Nights for Azalea
by lucy.ditty
Summary: ("I like to think that on the flower you gave me when we loved..." - E. E. Cummings) AU: People are stubborn and relationships are fickle, changing purely based on time and circumstance. But somehow they were always drawn to each other, even when they knew full well they shouldn't be.
1. 0-1: Prelude

_**WARNING:** Deals with less than comfortable topics. _  
_**DISCLAIMER: **Only the story belongs solely to me. Everything else belongs to their respectful owners._

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**0.1: Prelude**

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_"I like  
__to think that on  
__the flower you gave me when we  
__loved_

_ the far-_  
_departed mouth sweetly-saluted_  
_lingers."_

~ E. E. Cummings

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We first met when we were four during the Azalea festival. It was mid-April and you were wearing a new _yukata_ while I wore a hand-me-down blue shirt. Our mothers weren't very close but knew each other on sight. Stopping, I was forced to say hello and you the same.

You held a half-eaten rice ball in one hand and we just stared at each other as our mothers made obligatory conversation. You seemed like the soft spoken type, but your small smile told me you weren't really shy. But once your were jostled from behind by a passing couple, you lost hold of the rice ball and let it fall to the ground. Tears stared to well in your eyes as a silent cry seemed to form at the back of your throat. In an impulse, I handed you an azalea that I had hidden in my back pocket. While it didn't stop your tears from falling, you somehow found a way to swallow your sob and thank me in a small mousy voice.

I only had enough time to give a small nod before we were both pulled away by our mothers. Turning my head, I could see as you held tightly onto the azalea. All I could think was that you better not drop that too.

We met again a few years later when you were seven and I had just turned eight. It seemed like we were both on school trips at Tokyo Tower. Your class had stopped to eat lunch in the same place that my class also decided to have lunch. I didn't recognize you at first, you seemed to have changed in those years. You were taller and seemed to have gotten rounder. Your thick little fingers could barely work your chopsticks. I ended up sitting across the lawn from you, though I hadn't figured it out yet.

I looked up once and saw you staring at me, you in a row of girls you were not the only one who I had caught staring at me. But you were directly across and did not avert your gaze when I looked right back at you. There was a softness in your eyes, one that seemed oddly unnerving. It was a contradiction, a soft and strong gaze. But to my relief, you were forced to look away as your teacher called for your class to pack up.

But we were only to see each other again up in the observatory. There were flurries of small elementary school kids crowding the windows, faces pressed firmly against the glass. I had to fight my way to even get a glimpse over the heads of so many other children pushed face first onto the elevated Tokyo skyline. Feeling like the effort to get to the front wasn't worth it, I decided to make my way to the back and just wait for the teacher to gather everyone else back. Taking a breath of air, I slipped through the last kid at the very back and was surprised that you were standing there just against the wall. You seemed rather surprised to see me as well. But neither you nor I decided to turn away first, so we just stayed staring at each other for a long moment.

"Why do you always stare at me?" I asked.

As if finally realizing that you had indeed been staring at me, you turned your gaze to the floor, your cheeks suddenly getting bright red. With such round cheeks, it wasn't hard to make the analogy that you looked exactly like a tomato.

"S-sorry…" you whispered, bringing your fingers together in an annoying fidget.

After getting a bit bored just watching you toy with your fingers, I took a spot next to you. I sat beside you and without a hint of hesitance, you took a peek up at me before covering your mouth. Back shaking, your round cheeks pushed your eyes into a crescent like shape.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked, a bit offended.

You waved your free hand.

"No, n-no…" you stuttered between chuckles. "N-no, I just…"

You continued to laugh.

"Just what?"

There was a gulp, as if thinking that swallowing the built up saliva would also take down your laughter. You removed your hands and slid down next to me. We sat next to each other in silence; a stark contrast to the yelling and screaming of our classmates who were flocking themselves around the window. They seemed like animals. Although I hardly doubt you would have called their behavior that, you rarely ever thought of others as anything less than or more than what they actually were. But I thought it for the both of us.

"Could you really see all of Tokyo from there?"

After so much silence I was startled by how close your voice was. You were back to staring at me.

"Could you?" You asked again expectantly. "From the window, could you really see everything?"

Your question was strange to me.

"I guess." I shrugged, my head tilted. "Didn't you see it?"

You shook your head.

"Oh, no, not yet," you said. "Oh, but i-it's okay! I can just a-ask my mama to bring me some other t-time."

Even though you smiled at me, I could tell how much you really wanted to be one of the kids who had their noses pressed up against the glass. For whatever reason, you wanted to be one of the kids that had the first class view of all of Tokyo. But you were too polite to push your way through the cluster. It was a pitiful smile. Your eyes weren't in that strange crescent shape. They were welling up with tears instead.

"C'mon…"

I grabbed onto your thick wrist and pulled you up. Despite some inaudible protest, I dragged you to the edge of the flock of kids and started to push my way through. You apologized to every kid every step of the way. Most of the kids were about both of our heights, and getting by them was not easy. It took a lot of effort on my part as you were like a brick moving through mud. I wasn't too sure if it was because you most likely weighed a few kilos more than me or you really felt intrusive to others. Either way, I managed to get to the front. Pushing you in front of me, I almost knocked you into another kid just a millimeter away. We both grumbled an "I'm sorry".

Slowly, you raised your right hand up to touch the glass. Then you raised your left. Making sure that it would not give from under your fingertips, you leaned in. And in your reflection, I could see your wide doe eyes disappear into a crescent. You turned your head to face me, a smile so wide and unassuming. How could you have gotten so much joy from just staring out a giant window?

"Sasuke-kun, it's so cool!"

You managed to say without a hiccup. Your pure awestruck expression stayed as you turned back to look across the landscape. Peeking over your shoulder, looking over the ocean of streets, cars, buildings, and ant like people flurrying around like a colony of fish, for a moment I really did believe it was cool.

Before you left with your school, and I mine, the crowd slowly dwindled. I grabbed onto your wrist.

"A-ah…" You hesitated. "Y-yes, Sasuke-kun?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked you, not in a threatening or accusatory way, just pure curiosity.

"Huh?" you looked at me quizzically, then took a shifting step back. "I-I recognized y-you from a f-few times that m-my m-mama talks to y-yours at the Azalea Festival e-every year."

I couldn't remember clearly.

"A-and…" you paused to point at the back of my jacket.

I looked back to find that my name was written in bold. My eyes widened and I looked away, trying my hardest to conceal my embarrassment. How _un_cool. Rubbing my sleeve against my nose, I tried to put on a calm expression, only failing to make it look more like a disappointed frown. You, on the other hand, had a hand up to your lips. Your eyes like crescents once again but I couldn't see your smile.

Unconsciously, I forced your hand down. You looked at me in surprise. I just stared, realizing my actions a second too late. Coughing and releasing your wrist, I went back to rubbing my nose with a sleeve.

"You shouldn't hide your smile," I mumbled into my sleeve.

"W-what did y-you-," you began.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" One of my teachers screamed for me. "Uchiha, the group is leaving."

"Y-you better go," you said. "I-I think I have to, t-too."

"Right." I sniffed and turned on my heels to leave. I heard you say goodbye to me. Then I stopped for a second.

I turned back for a moment, you were already turned to leave.

"Oi!" I called.

You looked back.

"See you around, Tomato-chan."

Your face lit up.

"T-tomato-chan…?" you stuttered, flustered. "M-my n-name isn't-…"

"Hinata-chan!" your teacher called for you.

"C-coming sensei!"

I smirked a little, walking away feeling a little more satisfied with myself. I left thinking, _your name really suits you. _

We met more times in the next few years. They were always brief moments. The times that we saw each other never lasted more than a few minutes. Most were really just glimpses for a couple of seconds. I would sometimes see you picking out fruits with your mother at the market. If our schools happened to be passing by each other during a common class trip, we would be sure to at least say hello to each other. I never actively sought after you, nor did you to me. We would exchange pleasantries and if time allowed, we'd talk a little.

We never talked about anything too personal. In our small chats, I learned you had an older brother and younger sister. You liked and knew a lot about flowers. You liked light, pastel colors. You had an allergy to cats but loved them dearly. In fact, you seemed to love anything that lived, including spiders.

You learned that I had an older brother. I really liked rice balls. I hated to study. And somehow, you happened to come across me just as I was startled by a garden snake, which you then learned that I have a severe fear of anything that slithers and goes _hiss_.

We were able to keep a safe distance from each other, just being friendly acquaintances. You didn't invade my personal life and I didn't invade yours, which we were both perfectly fine with. We knew that our fathers worked under the same firm, but it was a large company and we both could agree that going to department parties were less than anything kids would call fun. You went out of a sense of daughter's obligation and I just stayed home with my brother while my parents mingled the night away. And the next time we'd take a glance at each other, you never seemed curious as to why I wasn't there. We never assumed or expected anything from each other.

It was very comfortable that way. It was very safe.

But when the walls of one of the local cathedrals were lined with white chrysanthemums, the look in everyone's eyes seemed pitiful and filled with sorrow. Regardless of their personal feelings towards my father, they all seemed to give my mother the same practiced sentence, "_I am extremely sorry for your loss._"

When my father dropped dead in the middle of the night, no one in my family was sure if it was the heart attack or the fall down the stairs. But even if my parents had been fighting much more frequently than normal, the worry and tears that were streaming down my mother's cheeks seemed to be filled with genuine fear and grief. Even when I looked at her profile from under the black veil, she had her eyes down cast as she half-heartedly thanked the people that approached her in the corner. I didn't know half the people around me, my father had little to no known relatives and my mother's aging parents lived all the way in Hokkaido; flight or train would be bad for the their aging bones. That's what my mother said.

For most of the night, I was able hold myself together. But the more people came, the more I felt like the subject of other's pity. My brother and I had stayed dutifully by my mother's side, our father's ashes and photo on the table beside us. I was about ready to collapse from pure exhaustion when suddenly you appeared in front of me. You, along with your father, stood in front of my family. Both you and your father gave deep bows as your father gave his condolences. Then a bow to my father's photo. When you came up to a straight position, your head was still tilted down, your eyes did not dare meet mine. Shocked, I took a step back. In all of our meetings, I couldn't remember a single time that you had been conscious of your gaze. It was one of your many strange habits, to look too intently at someone. Perhaps you had learned not to stare at others so intently, but I assumed I was not like the others. As you walked away with your father to join the crowd of other nameless faces, I continued to follow you. Staying diligently by your father's side, you seemed to struggle to not be jostled by even this somber crowd.

I felt a small push from behind. Looking back a bit annoyed, I saw my brother give me a knowing look and waved me off. Even he seemed to sense how the atmosphere was affecting me. With slow steps, I approached you. Your father was speaking in a soft voice to another man, and your head looked to the floor. With a little hesitance, I lightly tapped your wrist. You looked a bit startled and whipped your head in my direction. I threw my head back a bit, signaling you to follow.

You turned back to your father with a bit of worry, but he didn't take much notice. I motioned again. This time, you started to follow.

Out in the night, the chill of Bunkyo pricked at the back of my neck. I stretched out my arms and gave a forced yawn, trying to gather as much oxygen as I could to wake myself up. Letting out a breath and watching the clouds lift into the starless sky, I started to make my way down the hill.

It took me several steps to realize that you weren't following along anymore. Turning back, you were still standing in front of the cathedral gates. You stood and just looked at me from the top of the steps. In the dimness of the night, despite the street lamps, I couldn't see the look on your face.

"Are you not coming?" I asked. "Because I'm going to take a walk whether you come or not. But I'd rather not go out alone."

Without saying anything, you made your way down the steps. Once you found your way beside me, I started walking down the hill again. We walked in synchronicity. Each step we took was just in the right time with each other. We said nothing. At least, not till we got to the bottom of the hill.

Once we reached the bottom, you immediately seemed to feel the need to open your mouth.

"I'm terribly sorry for yo-,"

"If you're going to say anything, can you please not say that?" I cut you off. "I'm tired of hearing those words."

You fell silent and I immediately felt guilty. You probably felt genuinely sorry for me. I'm sure there were a handful of people in that room who did, too. But my frustration and anger were president to any sorrow I felt. It didn't feel real yet that my father was really gone forever. It really hadn't set in yet. And all the people going around telling me they were sorry…

"I'm sorry…" I said softly, trying to gain back control of my feelings. "Let's…"

I hadn't realized that we'd stopped walking. I started again and heard as you quickly tried to catch up.

"Let's talk about something else." I said as confidently as I could. "How have you been? I didn't know you would come."

"A-ah…" you responded softly. "I didn't think I would either."

I didn't know why it hurt a bit to hear that.

"M-my mom i-is pregnant again," you told me. Pausing, unsure if you should be saying such a thing to me at that time. "N-news like th-this isn't g-good for pregnant women. I-I thought I-I would j-just stay home with her."

"Mmn…"

"S-sorry, you p-probably don't w-want to hear this r-right now…"

"No, it's fine." I assured you. "So, your brother and sister are with her now?"

"Y-yes," you seemed to perk a bit. "Neji-nii-san and Hanabi-chan t-told me that I-I should probably ac-company father. O-our fathers… Th-they've known each other a l-long time a-and th-this must b-be h-hard for you, t-too."

"No, I'm fine." I fibbed.

"A-ah." You didn't sound the least bit convinced.

"So your mom is expecting?" I asked after a moment of silence. "Does it seem strange that you'll be thirteen years older than the baby?"

"T-twelve."

"Huh?" I looked back at you. This time, though, I really looked at you for the first time that night. Had I ever seen you in so much black? Black hair, headband, necklace, dress, jacket, shoes… it made your skin so sickly pale. I also noticed just how thin you'd gotten. Your face still had a childish roundness to it, but you no longer looked like you were just a solid block or round. Things I would have never noticed because of your usual baggy jacket I now saw. Like little curves that I knew some girls in my class were beginning to develop. You had them, too.

"T-twelve," you repeated. "M-my mother is e-expecting this f-fall. M-my b-birthday i-is in December. I-I'll s-still be twelve."

Nodding my head slowly, I grunted in response.

"Either way," I shrugged and continued my earlier point, "Don't you think it'll be a little weird? When you're twenty-two and graduating from university, the baby will only be the age we are now?"

"N-not r-really. They're m-my b-baby sibling either way." You responded.

"I guess that's just the youngest kid in me talking," I said under my breath.

I heard you laugh beside me. I turned and found your crescent eyes looking into something ahead, one hand over your mouth. "It's alright. We all have our own opinions."

Then we fell into silence once again. We continued to walk and said nothing. Listening only to the silence of a sleeping Tokyo. And in our silence, I almost forgot about the saddening reality that was only a ten minute walk away. But I tried to push that out of my mind and just focused on the sounds of our footsteps against the pavement. Step by step, I only focused on the _pat pat_. But slowly you began to fall behind. At first it was only one step, then two. Soon, you'd stopped moving all together.

I stopped to face you. You stoop under the beam of a street lamp, your arms wrapped around themselves. Eyes widening, I realized that you must have been freezing this whole time. The cardigan you wore was probably not enough for the late summer night.

"Should we go back?" I asked you. I wasn't particularly asking for an opinion. It was just out of courtesy.

"N-no," you said. I could finally pick out the chilled tremble in your voice, different from your usual stutter. "W-we c-can k-keep w-walking if y-you w-w-want…"

You attempted to take a step toward me, but instead only stumbled. Losing balance, you were about to fall forward onto the pavement. Quickly I went to catch you just before you did.

"S-sorry!" you half shouted.

"No need to apologize, geez. Can you stand?"

You nodded and made an attempt to stand. Which failed as your knees buckled and you let out a hiss. I caught you with both hands by your waist. It was an awkward position that couldn't have been comfortable for you or me. Readjusting my hold I managed to get one hand under your arm while the other slipped a little lower to your back. It was a bit awkward but you stopped wobbling. Making sure that you were stable, I looked up to see that you were staring right at me again. Doe eyes open, looking onto a few millimeters away. You were so close, the feeling of your breath tickled the tip of my chin. Our noses didn't touch, but they very well could have. That was the closest I had ever gotten to you. That was the closest I had gotten to anyone. To be so close that I could feel both of our heartbeats pound against each other. You're face began to glow red. We looked away, mumbling apologies to each other.

Looking down at your feet, one shoe had come off during your little tumble. I sighed and bent down to pick it up, careful not to completely abandon you as a support.

"N-no, no… It's alright I-I…" you frantically began to say.

On a closer look, I could see cuts and blisters all around your toes and heel.

"A-ah, these are o-old sh-shoes. I-I… I guess th-they're a l-little t-too small for me."

I sighed again.

"You should wear shoes that fit." I reprimanded. Rubbing a hand to my face, I squatted down in front of you. "C'mon, we should get you back."

"Wh-what?" You stuttered.

"The cathedral should have some bandages for your feet."

"N-no…" you said. "Why a-are you kneeling?"

I looked back at you. Seeing the puzzlement in your eyes, your face was still glowing a small pinkish hue. I smirked and rolled my eyes.

"My mom and brother would kill me if they found out I let you walk back like you are now." I explained. "Especially up that hill."

Your face only grew redder.

"N-no," you stammered, "there r-really i-is no n-need. I-I can w-walk b-back j-just fine."

"Just get on."

"R-really, I'm o-okay…"

"C'mon."

"I'm f-fine."

"R-really-,"

"You're really testing my patience Tomato-chan." I said sternly. "Now get on or I'll just push you into the road so that you'll have no choice but to beg for me to carry you back."

Silently, you obeyed and climbed onto my back. Lifting you up, I didn't realize how light you seemed. You weren't weightless, but you definitely weighed less than I was bracing myself for. Perhaps it was because I was so used to seeing how much rounder you were in the past. You didn't completely put yourself on me, even when we were in that position.

"You know it only makes it harder for me to carry you if you're leaning back like that." I told you, annoyance very evident in my voice.

"S-sorry," you said and reluctantly leaned completely down my back. "Th-this i-is e-embarrassing…"

"It's only as embarrassing as you make it, Tomato-chan." I teased.

"W-why do you a-always c-call me th-that?"

"Call you what?" I asked.

I could feel the heat radiate off your face and onto the back of my neck. I smirked.

"T-tomato-chan? W-why do you a-always c-call me that?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. Just because you're such a tomato, Tomato-chan."

Your face only grew hotter. We didn't say anything after that. You weren't one for comebacks. The rest of the way, I just carried you back. Silently, we worked our way up the hill. And back into the cathedral, I set you down before we got to the gates. I continued to help you inside, but I stayed a safe distance. There were still people around, but definitely much less than when we left. After asking a nun for some bandages, she led us to a separate room connected to the main one and told us to wait while she went to grab the bandages.

I stayed with you in the room. You sat in the only chair beside a door leading somewhere else. You carelessly swung your feet back and forth, humming a bit to yourself. While one hand gripped onto the chair, the other held onto an azalea that you must have plucked on our – or my – walk back. I laughed a bit. You had this strange positivity to you that, albeit was a little annoying at times, made you seem just so carefree. It was refreshing, your awkwardness in what should be not so awkward situations made the awkward silences just that much more comforting. It was a natural state when I was with you. I guess that was how our acquaintance had managed all those years, with just sheer serendipitous awkwardness.

"How do they feel?" I asked.

"N-not t-too bad." You smiled at me, eyes crescent. "If I'm not standing on them I feel just fine."

I nodded and you continued to smile. Swinging your feet back and forth you started to hum again. But it wasn't long before you stopped. Your expression twisted a little, you tilted your head to stare at the door beside you.

"What is it?"

You didn't answer, only continued to stare. Slowly, you turned yourself in the chair and leaned forward. Carefully, you cracked the door open just slightly. I came up behind you and peeked as well.

I saw my mother standing there. She had her veil off but wasn't looking in our direction. She stood, looking no longer sad, but frustrated. Before I could ask what was going on. Your father's frame came into view.

"Mikoto," your father said.

I was struck by how he was able to say my mother's name so freely without honorifics. I had never heard anyone but my father and grandparents do that.

"Hiashi, I don't want to discuss this." My mother said, exasperated. "Not today, please, not today."

"You haven't heard me say anything." Your father said coolly.

"Do I need to?"

"I'm just making an offer of help. I can help lessen the financial burden, for Sasuke and Itachi's schooling." He paused. "I don't expect anything in return."

"Oh, Hiashi." My mother sighed, frustrated. "I'm telling you I don't need any help. And isn't your _wife_ pregnant with your fourth child?"

"This has nothing to do with my wife." Your father sounded stern. He almost sounded defensive.

"I'm just saying that you should focus on your own finances before offering help to others. Hinako isn't as young as she used to be and having a child at that age isn't cost efficient." My mother had this edge in her voice that I hadn't known she could muster. It was scarily foreign. "Trust me, I know."

"Whatever my wife needs I can provide it. I'm just worried about you." Every word that came from your father's mouth seemed to seep with annoyance.

"What is there to worry about? I can cope just fine. Itachi can help out with money, he's old enough to work. Plus, Itachi is almost at a university level, he can easily gain a merit scholarship."

"I'm just giving you an option, a safety net. Futaku would have-…"

"But this isn't about Futaku is it?" My mother cut in. "Hell, this isn't even about me. You aren't doing this out of good will, you're doing it for your own self-satisfaction!"

"Mikoto."

"To sedate your own guilt."

The tone my mother used was unknown to me. It wasn't gentle or understanding as it usually was. It sounded harsher, rougher.

"I'm doing it for the good of your sons."

"You say my sons, but you really only mean one don't you?" My mother nearly yelled.

"Lower your tone." Your father countered harshly.

There was a pause, I assumed my mother was trying to collect herself.

"Hiashi…" my mother said slowly. "Whatever sense of responsibility you feel, get over it. It's been nearly fourteen years. Neither of us were thinking right and you can't remember half of what went on."

"Mikoto…" your father tried to come in smoothly.

"I don't want to hear it Hiashi!"

I felt a tug on my sleeve. You were staring at me, wide eyed and fear evident. Confusion and fear very evident.

"S-sasuki-kun…" you whispered. "What a-are they f-fighting about?"

"I don't know. I-,"

There was a bang as something went toppling down. Capturing both of our attention once again, it was a wonder no one had yet heard or suspected anything.

"That boy is just as much your son as he is mine!" Your father said in a raised voice. "Thank Kami that he inherited most of your genes and looks so much like you that no one would know that _I'm _the father. I may not have raised him, nor did I know of his conception until the day of his birth, but none the less _my _blood still runs through his veins. I have a strong sense of responsibility to fulfill to him and just quietly sitting back doesn't help it."

The more he talked, and the more they argued, the more confused I became. I could feel your grip on my shirt tighten till your hands shook. Unknowingly, I had my hand just over yours. For whatever reason, be it to comfort you or to comfort myself, I didn't know. But I held onto it tight. Looking at you, I could see the tears started to well. Had you ever seen your father so angry before? Had he ever been this terrifying to you before?

I continued to stare, and tried to give you some kind of comforting look. You were always ugly when you cried and this time was no different. But I couldn't figure out how. The shouting was too distracting. And as your years began to fall, all I could do was wipe each one away; missing a few in pursuit of others. I always hated seeing you cry, though I hadn't seen it in a long time. But this time, I seemed to hate it more than usual. I just wanted to go in there and tell them to stop fighting. To stop because it was scaring you.

"You have no right!"

_Stop it! _

"Stop being so goddamn prideful!"

_Stop it! _

"This has nothing to do with my pride!"

_Stop it!_

"Then what?"

_Stop it!_

"Then what?"

_Stop it! _

They stopped, only for a second. Your tears continued to fall.

"Sasuke might be your son…"

I stopped.

"…but he is _not_ your obligation…"

You dropped the azalea.

"…I'm taking us back to Hokkaido. I'll stay with my parents. Finance won't be a problem."

You immediately let go of my shirt and I took a few steps back. Like a sudden rain, the feeling of loss fell onto my shoulders. I couldn't move or turn away. Your eyes were wide like a petrified doll, mouth hung open. The nun came in at that time, and you quietly shut the door. In an unknown silence, you allowed the nun the bandage your feet. Eyes looking anywhere but at me. I trembled, and I shook. Hearing the information that I did, I didn't know what to think anymore. And with how things were, I was sure that was the last time I would ever meet you.

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**. . .**

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_I'd like to now say that this is the time to tell me to continue or not. After reading the prelude what are your thoughts? Also, I would like some help with genre since I can't seem to quite place where I'd place this story..._

_Please leave a review!_


	2. 1-1: First Nights

_**WARNING: **This story deals with uncomfortable topics, a romance between siblings being the main one. There will be no last minute plot twist of them finding that they are not related, so if these is a topic that you do not want to explore with me, I understand if you decide to leave now. **  
NOTICE: **As this story takes place in Japan, all units of measurement will be in the metric system. Apologies to readers who still live with the imperial system..._

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**1.1: First Nights**

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By the time she had reached Eniwa Station, it was already close to sundown. Despite it being early April, the winter wonderland seemed to be far from over. The snow gently fell on the platform as she exited the train with several other wary looking travelers. Wrapping her scarf a little tighter around her neck, she followed the mass out to the front. Her breath caught in swirls of white, a few of the other passengers had already lifted their umbrellas. She'd been told to look for a smaller blue van. Though the snow had only reached a couple of centimeters, telling blue apart from the white was a little more difficult than it should have been.

Thankfully, someone stepped out of a car at the back of the parking lot and started waving her hands. Taking that as a signal, she quickly walked over, trying hard not to slip or loose hold of her bags.

"Hinata-chan," a woman just a little shorter than Hinata herself made a small bow.

Cautious of her eyes, Hinata only smiled and made sure to look at the ground.

"It's so cold out, it must be about four degrees out right now. What are you thinking wearing so little?" The woman rubbed her own arms as she opened the back trunk.

Hinata took her bags and dumped them inside. She didn't have much. Everything she owned and needed was able to fit in two smaller duffels, a backpack, and one large suitcase. And even though her father and sister offered to take time away from their own vacations to help her move happily into the boarding house in Sapporo, Hinata had refused. Partly out of mindfulness of their time – but mostly out of selfishness of wanting to get away as fast as she could.

Not that she did not love them, but the air around her family suffocated her. It hurt so much that she couldn't stand to stay there much more than she needed. After all, it was only Hokkaido. Her brother had made his discomfort more obvious by escaping to America.

"It's quite all right, Mrs. Haruno," Hinata responded. "I don't mind the cold."

Walking to the passenger seat, she waited for Mrs. Haruno to get in first before climbing into the car herself.

"I can't tell if you're lying or not Hinata-chan," Mrs. Haruno said, "you're so pale already, it's hard to tell."

Hinata let out a laugh.

"My husband would have been here to help with all the bags but he was working late. I didn't want to be late picking you up." Mrs. Haruno explained. "And my daughter was out with a few of her friends. You understand right? Spending your last night with friends before you leave?"

Hinata gave a meaningless nod.

"Well my daughter is just spending her last night with all her close high school friends. Some she won't see till the next winter holidays."

"Ah," was all Hinata could say.

Driving down the streets of Eniwa, the snow slowly began to pick up as the sun just disappeared under the horizon. Even in the growing darkness, the snow could be seen shining in layers over mailboxes, curbs, cars, and roofs. At first, it seemed like the barren trees even sported powder white leaves. And the more they drove, the more the scene outside of the car window looked like just a large white blur.

There wasn't much talking; which was fine with Hinata, she didn't feel much like speaking. There were simple questions every once in a while. All of them could be answered with a simple and polite answer exceeding no more than a few words, such as: It's snowing hard, isn't it? Are you cold? Do you want me to turn on the radio?

They were simple. Hinata would face the woman, answer (_Yes. Of course not. No need, Haruno-san._), and then turn back to look out the window. Hinata had met Ms. Haruno and her husband when Hinata had been requested to undergo a supplementary interview for Hokkaido University. Then, as it turned out her interviewer had coincidentally been her mother's friend in high school. They had ended up spending most of the interview talking about her mother, something that Hinata hadn't done since her death nearly five years ago.

"Ah," Mrs. Haruno piped, "here we are Hinata-chan."

The car turned into the driveway lined with bricks and bare bushes. It was a modest two story house. Hinata had never seen homes so far apart, the last one she had seen was a little walk away. Stepping out of the car, Hinata and Mrs. Haruno took out the things from the back and took them up to the front door. At first, Mrs. Haruno had seemed to have forgotten where her keys were. She spent a while looking for them and Hinata felt the chill of the wind blow everyone in a while. Finally, Mrs. Haruno remembered that she'd left the house keys in her car – along with the car keys. And all of that happened to only find out that Mrs. Haruno had dangerously left the front door unlocked.

The Haruno home felt like the complete opposite of hers. It was filled with deep, warm colors. There were heavy curtains that draped every window. All the furniture was very western styled with dark wooded chairs and coffee tables. It smelled like oak.

Pictures lined the hall that led to the upstairs. Most of them Hinata recognized to have Sakura, the only child of the Haruno, in them. She only knew because the one at the bottom resembled the same one Mrs. Haruno had shown her during her supplementary interview. It was one that must have been taken at her graduation because Sakura was holding a rolled paper and was still in her school uniform.

"So, this is your room for when you stay with us, alright Hinata-chan?"

The stairs had led to a loft area with three doors. The one that Mrs. Haruno had led her to was the furthest one from the stairs. When she opened the door, Hinata felt a little relieved that this room was less decorated than what she'd seen of the rest of the house. It was just a room with a bed in the far corner. The sheets were still very bright and rich like the drapes on the window, but she could manage with that.

"I didn't know what kind of decorations you wanted," Mrs. Haruno said entering the room. "I hope you don't mind that I left it so… blank!"

Hinata smiled.

"It's nice," she said courteously.

Mrs. Haruno sighed. She walked to a closet door and slid open, then close.

"You struck me a lot like your mother." Mrs. Haruno said. "She was really organized and knew exactly what she wanted and what she would need to get it. She wasn't as material and sentimental as me."

Hinata's lip twitched.

"Well," Mrs. Haruno chirped, "are you hungry Hinata-chan? After such a long trip you surely must be."

"I could use a little dinner," Hinata said sheepishly.

Mrs. Haruno's eyes seemed to light at the words.

"Then I'll go and make something." Mrs. Haruno said as she walk to the door. "Do you like _yudofu_?"

"That sounds good, Haruno-san," Hinata said. "Thank you."

Mrs. Haruno smiled and closed the door as she left. When Hinata heard the click, she turned to set down her bags. Sitting down on the bed, she started to unbutton her jacket. She unwrapped the red scarf around her neck but left it hanging. Reaching up she slipped the hat off her head and brushed a bit of snow that hadn't yet melted from the little pompom on the top. Gently placing it down beside her, Hinata bent down to grab one of her bags.

She unzipped it and pulled out a small, baby-blue handheld phone. She flipped it open to find that she had a new message. It was from her sister asking if she'd made it to the Haruno home safely. It made her feel a little guilty, seeing as how she'd left Hanabi to just be with their father alone. Hinata had always thought she was a little more empathetic than this, she knew how it felt to be left to deal with their broken home. She had felt it the day her brother had decided to move abroad. And the weight of the world had seemed to fall a little heavier on her shoulders without her dear Neji-nii-san to carry it with her. Hinata wondered just how horrible of a person she must be to have suddenly just dumped five years of responsibility and shattered glass onto her sister.

Hesitantly, Hinata began typing out a reply.

"Made it to Eniwa and the Haruno house safe and sound," she read out loud.

She paused, typed in an emoticon, and pressed send. The room was a little larger than the one she had back in Tokyo but felt massive since she had shared a room with her sister. Her phone _ping_-ed.

_Glad to hear you're safe. Have fun!_

Was that the moment she should have started to cry? Hinata didn't know. She knew that the exclamation was a false excitement. She was certain that even if Hanabi didn't despise her, she must have at least felt a little bitter. But Hinata could only think that that perhaps Hanabi was attempting to show courage.

Slipping her phone back into her bag, she dumped her bag to her side. Something dropped out onto the ground. Looking over, she saw leather bound book with paper sticking out every which way. Picking it up, she knew what it was. It had been her sketchbook, the same one she'd kept since she was ten. She remembered how hesitant she'd been to bring it. It was a privet sketch book. Some children wrote in diaries and journals to vent their inner feelings. Hinata had never been good with words, even her inner voices were jumbles of incoherent whispers that popped from one corner of her mind to the other. So, to sort out her thoughts, she could only express it through visual drawings.

It had fallen out and landed so that it was faced down, turned to a certain page. When she picked it up, she hadn't bothered to close it before looking down at it. Hinata didn't like looking back at what she'd drawn once she'd finished it. It usually took a few days to complete a drawing, and once she had completed it, she hated to ever look at it again. It was like if she went back, her heart and mind would return to the feelings that she had forced onto that one page.

But down on that page, she only took a glimpse before immediately closing it. Too late. She could still picture the sharp jaw and hazy eyes that she'd colored blood red. A fully bloomed azalea stuck in the mouth. She shuttered. Quickly, she put it back into her bag and hastily re-zipped it. Getting up, she walked over to the lone window.

Pulling back the heavy curtain, all it showed was the vastness of dark sky and white floored snow. There must have had to have been clouds. The moon wasn't visible. She placed one hand and the glass and exhaled, fogging her vision. She wasn't sure where she felt more removed from the world, from the height of her apartment in Tokyo or the rural placement of the Haruno's spare bedroom.

She let the curtain fall back into place. The _yudofu _must have been almost ready by then.

* * *

Downstairs, Mr. Haruno had just returned from his job at one of the best Ramen shops in town. He and Mrs. Haruno ran a mom-and-pop's styled place that a lot of the school kids liked going to in the winter. Mr. Haruno was the chef while Mrs. Haruno handled finance and hosting. They were well liked by the neighborhood and their shop was in and popular year round. Seeing his wife in the kitchen, Mr. Haruno came in and wrapped a loving hand around her waist.

"You're home," Mrs. Haruno said. She gave him a kiss. "Where's your daughter?"

Mr. Haruno had offered to host the goodbye event for his daughter and her friends. It had been busy with so many teenagers sitting in the small little shop, but Sakura had smiled the whole time so he felt the hard work was worth it.

"She's walking back with some of her _friends_," Mr. Haruno responded.

"_Friends_…?" Mrs. Haruno repeated.

She stared at Mr. Haruno for a moment before fully understanding his implications. Opening her mouth in realization she nodded. Turning around, she placed a bowl at one end of the table just as Hinata came down the stairs.

"Oh, just in time Hinata-chan," Mrs. Haruno said in a sing-song voice. "I just finished making your _yudofu_."

"Thank you," Hinata said with a small bow.

Taking notice of the other man standing by Mrs. Haruno, she only assumed that he was Mr. Haruno.

"You must be Hyuuga Hinata-chan," the man said with a smile. "I'm Sakura's father, though everyone who comes to our shop calls me Haruno-oji-san."

Hinata smiled and reached out to shake his hand. He had a calloused palm from years of hard work, she thought. Wrinkles branched from the corners of his eyes and down from the sides of his nose. His hairline was receding and when he smiled it showed a row of crooked grey teeth. He wasn't particularly attractive, but he looked like one of the jolliest people Hinata had ever met.

"Thank you for letting me stay at your home while I'm in Hokkaido," Hinata said with a bow. "If there is anything I can do to help when I'm around, just let me know."

Mr. Haruno laughed.

"No need to be so polite Hinata-chan," he said.

Hinata nodded. She took a seat in front of the _yudofu_. It steamed and she hadn't known till then just how hungery she had been. It may have just been a block of tofu in broth, but it smelled nostalgic. It reminded her of her mother. This was a dish that her mother always made in the coldest of Tokyo winters.

"_Itadakimasu_," she said, hands together and eyes closed.

First, she took off a corner and put it in her mouth. Second, she took some of the broth, blew three times, and then sipped it. It may have smelled and looked nostalgic, but it surely didn't taste it. Salty, and not as light. It was a little disappointing.

"It's very good Haruno-san," Hinata said.

Mrs. Haruno gave a wide grin. She clapped her hands together and her eyes seemed to gleam as though Hinata had told her she had just saved her life.

"I'm so glad," Mrs. Haruno sighed. "Your mother taught me how to make that. It was like a little exchange you know. She taught me how to make _yudofu_ and I would give her my _yukata_ for the Azalea Festival."

"Is that so?" Hinata gave a wan smile.

A few moments of silence. Mrs. Haruno never let her grin fall as she cleared her throat and excused herself from the room. Once her footsteps could be heard from above, Mr. Haruno pulled out a chair and took a seat.

"My wife talked about your mother a lot when we first met," Mr. Haruno said "I had actually met my wife that night that she was just talking about. I had just saved up enough money from working at our family ramen house to buy a plane ticket to Tokyo. I'd always wanted to go there."

He smiled, recalling the memory. Hinata just sat and listened. She didn't realized she was staring until Mr. Haruno looked back up at her and she snapped back. Quickly, she cast her eyes on the tofu in front of her, hastily taking more from the corner.

"I'm sorry if my wife is a little…" he paused, trying to think of the correct words. "…if she's a little headstrong."

He nodded and grunted in approval of his choice in description.

"N-no," Hinata stuttered. She swallowed. "Haruno-san is really nice, and because of her I was able to come to Hokkaido… I'm really grateful to Mrs. Haruno and you, and Sakura-san for allowing me to be here in your home."

Mr. Haruno smiled and pressed his hands together on the table.

"You're a very sensitive girl aren't you Hinata-chan?"

Hinata's eyes widened.

"Hah?"

"I mean it as a compliment," Mr. Haruno laughed. "You seem very caring and sensitive to others. It's different for my wife, so I just feel like it to be natural for the two of you to be a little awkward for now. It may be the same way with my daughter and you since she shares so much of her mother's traits. You and I have similar personalities so I can tell."

Hinata didn't know how to respond.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan," Mr. Haruno assured, "in actuality, these quiet and loud personalities match really well together."

She felt she should smile at that point. Hesitantly, the corners of her lips warily turned up.

"Do you mind if I go outside for a moment?" Hinata suddenly asked.

Mr. Haruno turned to look out the window. Pitch black.

"It may not be the safest thing right now Hinata-chan," Mr. Haruno advised. "It's completely dark out."

"That's no problem," Hinata politely interjected. "I actually don't mind the dark, I like it really. I promise I won't go further that the front road."

Mr. Haruno didn't seem too assured and was ready to protest when Hinata stood. Taking a small bow, she didn't turn back again before she had put on her boots and was out the front door. It really was dark, only specks of white snow that gently fell to the ground could be with the dim porch light. Even her clouded breath was barely visible as it swirled in front of her.

"Ah…" A girl's voice came from the darkness. "You must be Hinata-chan."

Hinata squinted her eyes as footsteps got closer. At first, it was hard to see who it was, but the smile almost identical to her mother's, Hinata knew that it was only Haruno Sakura. Her hair was shorter and had been dyed some shade of red, but she looked still much like the Haruno Sakura from the graduation picture.

"What are you doing out here?" Sakura asked. "You should come in."

In the time that Hinata stood unable to answer, Sakura had already made it close enough to place her hand on the handle of the door.

"Ah, no…" Hinata managed. "I was just getting some fresh air."

At first, Sakura wondered if she should push a little more, to be sure that her new house guest would not freeze to death.

"Well, I'll leave the door unlocked." Sakura finally said. Before shutting the door, she made sure to say, "Don't stay out too long, it only gets colder."

Realizing that she'd left without a coat or warmer clothes, Hinata contemplated going back in. She finally decided against it. The Haruno weren't unfriendly. Far from it. But there was something that unsettled her. The over welcomed greetings and conversations they were so willing to give made her feel uneasy. There was something much too familiar, yet so foreign about the way they seemed to hold out open arms to her. Looking down at her pale hands, she saw them shake a little from the cold.

Patting her cheeks, she took her first step out into the darkness. She wrapped the scarf that was around her neck a few more times and continued to take a few more steps. Even if the snow weighed next to nothing, she could still feel the chill of each one as it landed on her head.

She wasn't too sure, but soon she thought she felt the snow get a little deeper. She stopped and thought that perhaps she had made it to the front road. In front of her was complete darkness, and behind her were the porch lights. She knew they were there. She could feel how inviting the inside of the house felt, how warm the _yudofu_ had felt going down her throat and into her stomach. But all she could really do was stand and stare into the void.

It wasn't like there was nothing there, though. She knew that even if she couldn't see it, there was still the road leading somewhere. Where, she didn't know, but at this point in her life, she was done with wondering really.

"You should go back in."

The voice startled her. She couldn't see who it was, but she was certain it was male. Deep and smooth, calming. It wasn't far either, almost so close that she could possibly reach out and touch it.

"It's cold out tonight, you should go back." The voice said again.

"A-ah…"

The voice was definitely close. And the second time it spoke, it only felt closer. Involuntarily, she felt her face flush red. She stiffened and wondered if the owner of not so distant voice could see how brightly she must have been glowing. She was certain she had outgrown the habit, that and stuttering.

"Turn back."

The words were demanding, but the voice wasn't. She couldn't see a face, but there was a tone of helplessness, pleading. Whoever it was, he did not feel like a strong person, almost broken.

"A-ah…" she said, words caught in her throat.

Slowly, she willed her feet to step back a few times before completely turning to return to the house. With each step, she contemplated looking back to maybe see who had so urgently told her to go back. With so much concern, she wondered if he could even see her clearly in all that darkness. Once she reached the front door and had her hand on the handle, it clicked open with ease. She looked back, but there was no one there. Only dark.

* * *

The _yudofu _was still on the table. Hinata thought it'd be a waste if she just left it there. She sat down to eat the rest, this time alone. Figuring that everyone else was already getting ready for bed, she figured she shouldn't take long herself. Not realizing that there was someone coming down from the stairs, she was startled when Sakura sat across from her.

"So you're Hinata-chan," Sakura said.

Hinata, trying hard not to choke, waited till the bit of tofu in her throat had completely gone down. In the light of the dining area, she could finally make out that Sakura looked a lot like her mother, pixy like features. Sakura had a small nose and lips. A rather large forehead that resembled her father's receding hairline, but a cute heart shaped face… at least created by the wisps of hair. They were pink, Hinata could finally tell. She looked pretty, pretty and confident.

"You must be Sakura-san," Hinata said politely.

"Oh, gee," Sakura giggled. "Sakura-_san_? Who am I? An old maid?"

Hinata wasn't sure how to respond. When Mr. Haruno had said that his daughter was similar to his wife in forwardness, Hinata should have taken that bit of information with more thought.

"C'mon now," Sakura continued, "We're the same age right? Use something a little cuter like Sakura-chan at least."

"Alright…" Hinata said hesitantly. She looked down to her tofu, half eaten.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't like it," Sakura said so naturally. "My mom won't take offense. She knows she isn't the best cook. My dad usually cooks in the house."

Hinata was taken aback by the casual bluntness.

"… is that so…" Hinata quietly breathed.

"Yup, just put the plate in the sink and you should be fine." Sakura said. "Oh, and then I can show you where the shower is and how to use it. You must be really tired and want to go to bed as soon as possible, right?"

"Maybe after I finish," Hinata said. "I'd feel bad if I just let Haruno-san's hard work go to waste. She went through so much trouble just to make if for me."

Sakura smiled.

"Alright," Sakura said. "I can tell already, you're going to be my mom's favorite."

Hinata was going to take that remark as a complement and continued to eat. She made sure not to look up too often. Sakura on the other hand made no effort to conceal her interest in Hinata, staring intently as she brought the soup spoon to her lips and tentatively took a sip. White skin, dark hair, wide hazel eyes, Sakura couldn't help but compare Hinata to the little porcelain dolls she used to keep on her shelf as a child.

"So our moms used to be best friends," Sakura said.

Hinata paused and looked up, catching Sakura's eyes.

"It seemed that they were."

Sakura nodded and bit her inner lip. She turned to look away for a moment before bringing her attention back.

"Do you think that we could be just as good of friends?" She asked expectantly.

Hinata blinked a couple times. She set down her spoon, realizing just then that she'd practically finished. She thought about the question. She knew that the best way to answer was to just agree. But could she really? Hinata thought that it wasn't good to lie, staying silent was always better than lying. Being friends with Sakura, someone she'd just met, seemed too soon to tell. Hinata didn't want to make any false promises, because a false promise may as well just be a bullet ready to fire into the heart. But if they really could be friends, Hinata was sure it'd been a long time since she'd truly made one.

"Perhaps," Hinata finally said. Thinking about it enough, it didn't seem too implausible. She gave a slow, but hopeful smile. "It would be nice if that could happen."

Sakura smiled and nodded. They just continued to sit in silence as the flick of the incandescent lights dimmed and lit. Sakura only shifted every once in a while, seeming accustomed – not content – with the growing void of silence between them. Hinata just continued to eat slowly and stared at her bowl, only looking up to glance at Sakura every so often. It would be nice if they could become close friends.

* * *

Hinata sat in her new room. It wasn't comfortable, but it had four closed walls, so it felt safe. There was something oddly comforting about not being able to hear as Sakura took her bath just a door down or the Haruno parents snoring across the loft. Even though just outside of her closed door, everything echoed through the walls, there was a sanctuary if the doors were shut. Even in the bath Hinata could still here as Sakura exchanged the pleasantries of a goodnight to her parents.

Sakura was most likely just soaking in the warm water, maybe listening as the snow fell outside. Hinata looked out the window and could every once in a while see as the white of the snow reflected a bit of the dim light from the house behind. She could see it till the light suddenly shut off, leaving the back window empty and black. Hinata sighed and lifted her feet to cross them on the bed.

Her phone buzzed.

Hinata went down and saw she actually had two messages. One from her sister and other from…

"Neji-nii-san…" Her brother.

Flipping the phone open, the first message from Hanabi only wished her goodnight and luck on her moving into the boarding house. She quickly texted back a thank you and a wish for sweet dreams, hoping silently that Hanabi would get the message before going to bed. It was almost past midnight, making it unlikely since – even if she was young – Hanabi could barely never stay awake long enough on New Year's to see the fireworks.

Scrolling down her messages, she stopped at the one message sent by her brother. Clicking, it read for her to call him before she went to bed. It had been sent while she'd been taking a bath and she had wondered how he had known she would be up so late. Or perhaps he hadn't taken into account the time difference and assumed she would be awake at all the hours he was.

She and Neji used to be the closest of siblings, closer than she and Hanabi. Even though Hinata shared a room with Hanabi, Neji and she had a smaller age gap, meaning that they did practically everything with each other. As they grew older, they grew apart as there were more and more things they seemed to want to keep from each other. With fumbling fingers, Hinata dialed her brother's cell number, struggling momentarily to remember all the codes needed for international calls.

"Hello, Hinata-sama?" There was something familiar in the joking way her cousin addressed her.

Ever since they were children, Neji had told Hinata that she was dainty like a princess. Hinata had then told him that if she was a princess, then Neji was strong like a samurai. And so from then, as an inside joke – just between the two of them – Neji would call Hinata 'Hinata-sama'.

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata cheerfully said into the receiver, "how are you?"

"Alright," Neji said in his usual reserved manner.

"That's good."

A pause.

"Have you made it to the Haruno house okay?"

"I wouldn't be calling if I hadn't," Hinata told her brother.

"You wouldn't be calling if you had." He countered.

Hinata laughed. Falling back onto her bed, she stared up to the ceiling.

"Is it late in Hokkaido right now?" Neji asked.

"Not too late." Hinata lied.

"You're a bad liar," Neji said.

"That isn't true," Hinata defended herself, "Neji-nii-san just never asks me questions he doesn't already know the answer to."

"That isn't true."

They both knew that it was though. She knew that Neji must have been fully aware of the time, otherwise he wouldn't have been asking. Neji never asked unless he was sure of the answer, otherwise he never bothered. For someone like Neji, questions were just ways of affirming what he already thought to be true. He was right most of the time. But the point in lying was because she didn't want him to hang up so soon if she told him that it was late.

"I should let you sleep," Neji said.

"No," Hinata whined. Her voice going (uncharacteristically) higher than it already was. "Neji-nii-san, you should tell me more about how you're doing. You've stopped messaging me about America. And it's been so long since I've gotten a picture from you."

"It's been busy Hinata." He sounded worn.

"Oh…"

Hinata slumped her back deeper into the springs of the bed. When her brother had first left for America, Hinata had thought that – while a bit bitter – maybe her brother could finally fly free like he'd always said he'd wanted to do. And at first, it really seemed like he had. He had sent her photos at least once a week of something new or interesting he'd found or seen. Neji would give her constant updates of things he had done or places he had been to. Sometimes he would even try to explain in an email different things he had learned in his lectures.

She enjoyed it when she would get new updates from Neji. Even if he was an ocean away, sometimes it felt like she was still a part of his life. That was until the messages slowly dwindled from a long page to just a few quick lines. Then a couple words. Then all together, it was lucky to receive a good night wish or "I'm doing well" at all. This call and message was the first time Hinata had been in contact with Neji since her acceptance into Hokkaido University two moths ago. Perhaps he really was just that busy and she was simply that insensitive.

"Do you have class soon?" Hinata asked.

"I don't for another half hour, but I should go in a few minutes." Neji said.

"Ah…"

"Are you excited?" Neji asked, as though hearing the dejectedness of Hinata's voice.

"For university?"

"What else?"

Hinata paused. Was she really excited? She was definitely relieved to be leaving the house. But did that equate to excitement? There were surely going to be new experiences, and certainly new people she would meet. Hokkaido and Sapporo were different than Tokyo and Bunkyo district, it felt different. But the difference… did it make her _excited_?

"Y-…yes?" Hinata said apprehensively.

Neji didn't say anything for a while. Hinata wasn't sure if it had been the answer he had been expecting, or maybe it was exactly what he knew she would say.

"You're a good girl Hinata."

"Hah?"

Hinata wasn't sure why the sudden statement.

"You're a good girl Hinata." He repeated again. "You'll make friends and this will be a fun experience for you."

"Neji-nii…"

"There will be times where you might feel home sick, or unsure of yourself, or guilty…" Neji continued. "…or just lost. But you have a good head Hinata. You're kind and have a good heart, but you aren't naïve. University is a big step for you, but you'll handle it fine. Remember Hinata, you're a Hyuuga. And Hyuuga succeed above all else."

Hinata could feel a tear well in one eye. The sincerity in her brother's voice was one she hadn't heard in such a long time, even if it was only through the phone. She had forgotten just how much she missed him, missed hearing his voice console her in her hardest times. After their mother's death, they hardly had anything to say to one another, afraid of saying the wrong thing. Neji had become colder while Hinata seemed to grow coarser, and the lack of words just made the distance greater. Hearing as he tried to calm her nerves reminded her of when she was little. And in the odd safety of this little room, Hinata let the tear fall.

"Yeah," Hinata said, trying to control the shaking in her voice. "Thanks Neji-nii-san."

"Don't worry Hinata," Neji assured her one more time. "I have to go now."

"Okay," Hinata said.

"Goodnight Hinata-sama," Neji said jokingly.

"Goodnight."

Hinata didn't hang up till she heard the line cut.

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

_Yudofu: A Japanese dish consisting of boiled tofu in broth  
Itadakimasu: A phrase said before eating_

_Thank you to all who reviewed the Prelude! This is the official first part of the first...chapter?... section? I'm not too sure what to call these. Either way, these will be a little slower paced, but bare with me. If you feel discomfort reading my store, I think that means I'm doing my job right. _

_Please leave a review! _


	3. 1-2: First Nights

**. . .**

* * *

**1.2: First Nights**

* * *

Light trickled in from the sliver between the drapes. A tap on the door and Hinata's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Hinata?" Mrs. Haruno's voice could be heard from the other side of the closed door. "Breakfast is ready when you are."

Lazing a little more in bed, Hinata snaked out her hand from beneath the covers and into her bag on the floor. Taking out her phone, she flipped it open and checked the time. Just past eight, she found it in herself to pick herself up from the mattress, a small groan leaving her lips. Rubbing her eyes, Hinata let out a yawn and got out of bed to pull open the drapes. A blast of sunlight hit her.

She winced and shut her eyes for a moment and made a low grumbling sound before laughing at herself. She never was a morning person.

Sakura and Mr. Haruno were down at the table eating when Hinata came down. Taking the same seat that she had the night before, she realized that she was sitting right across from Mrs. Haruno. The woman was looking a little timid and hesitent to look Hinata in the eyes, but Hinata acted as though she paid no notice. Sakura on the other hand happily greeted Hinata and immediately placed a few pickled radishes onto Hinata's rice bowl.

"_Itadakimasu_," Hinata said.

"Did you have a good rest?" Mr. Haruno asked.

He was chewing on a broiled fish and spit out the bones onto a napkin. Hinata nodded her head and gave a small smile.

"The bed was very comfortable," Hinata said.

"That's good." Sakura picked up her own broiled fish. She stuck it in her mouth and sucked before picking up another and handing it out to Hinata. "I don't know how the boarding house will be, but I doubt we'll be sleeping quite as well as we do here."

Hinata laughed and nipped off a part of her fish and carefully started picking out the bones.

"I suppose not."

That morning definitely felt less tense than the night before. Whether it was due to the ease of having Sakura to carry the small conversations or just the fact that the Haruno had accepted the fact that Hinata was not much of a talker - no one knew. But the morning carried on and by noon, Hinata and Sakura were on the train going for Hokkaido University.

* * *

Mr. and Mrs. Haruno were driving to the location of the boarding house wish all of Sakura and Hinata's things. The girls took a train to meet them there. Both girls sat in the seats closest to the door. Hinata stared at the blur of scenery they passed while Sakura had her ear plugs in while she laughed and texted someone unknown to Hinata. Strangers would hardly even know that the two knew each other. Slowly, Hinata's gaze drifted towards Sakura. Her eyes stopped to notice how oddly fitting the bubblegum pink hair seemed to fit. As though feeling the stare, Sakura stopped texting and looked back at Hinata. Catching herself, Hinata quickly turned away and hid her eyes behind neatly combed bangs.

Sakura acted hardly bothered by Hinata's strange actions and only awkwardly laughed. Pulling out one plug, she offered it to Hinata.

"Want to listen?" Sakura asked.

Hinata peaked up and for a while only stared at the small bud. Hesitantly, she took it and put it into her ear. She recognized it as an artist she'd heard on the radio a while ago somewhere. A voice familiar but very generic, one that could be mistaken for any other no name singer, yet very popular regardless. Going back to her phone, Sakura stared laughing again.

Hinata wanted to ask who. But a thought that maybe it wasn't her place to crossed her mind. Then the realization that Sakura would do the exact same thing if it were Hinata in her place reassured her that Sakura wouldn't care either way. Sakura seemed reasonably understanding.

"What is so funny Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

At first there was no change in Sakura, making Hinata wonder if she had even heard. Then Sakura hit a few more buttons before closing the phone.

"I'm just laughing at some friends." Sakura said. "A few of my classmates are going to Hokkaido University, too."

"Really?" Hinata said, not at all surprised.

She expected it. A good university just under an hour's train ride from home, why wouldn't all of them at least try to get admitted. Many of Hinata's friends had aimed for Universities in Tokyo. If they had wanted to go anywhere else, it was always abroad. Only she applied to be admitted for a domestic university outside of Tokyo, surprising even her teachers.

"Yeah," Sakura laughed. "Most of my classmates went to Sapporo yesterday so I'm asking them to tell me stories of their first nights. Some of them are really funny."

"Ah…" Hinata nodded.

"One of them said that their neighbor was having some kind of band practice all night and so she hardly got any sleep." Sakura laughed and Hinata followed along.

A moment of silence as the song switched to something a little faster paced. There was a lot of heavy base and synth sounds.

"So all of your classmates are already in Sapporo?" Hinata clarified, trying her best to keep the conversation going.

"Almost," Sakura said. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her eyes widened and she sprung up a bit. Looking back down at her lap, her phone screen had brightened showing that she had a new message. Picking it up, she flipped it open and read the message. She started laughing a chirping kind of laugh, different than the other ones. It felt lighter, happier. There was a sprightliness to it that seemed to bubble onto her widened smile. Sakura bit her lip as a small blush tinted her cheeks. In a flurry, Sakura quickly typed in a response.

"One of my… friends texted me saying they just woke up." Sakura told Hinata.

Hinata failed to see why such information was so funny. She also noticed how Sakura seemed to hesitate when calling this person a friend.

"Wow, so late," Hinata commented.

Sakura nodded and giggled.

"He must not have slept well," Sakura said. "Usually he wakes up really early."

"Is he a close friend?" Hinata asked.

"We've always been in the same class since middle school." Sakura explained. "We've always been at the top together. And at our school the top of the class are always the class representative, so we constantly had to work together."

There was still a bubbly smile and rosy blush on her face as Sakura spoke. Hinata concluded that it must be a boy she was infatuated with.

"I assume he is also attending Hokkaido University?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah," Sakura piped.

There was a silence again and the song changed. Something slow and quite, barely audible over the sound of train on tracks. Sakura took out her mp3 and scrolled through it, looking for a different song to listen to. Hinata turned away and started looking out the window once again, rubbing her hands nervously against her skirt. The snow from the night before had stopped and it wasn't scheduled to snow in Sapporo for the next few days. At least there would be no worry of a blizzard on the first day of lectures, Hinata thought amusingly to herself.

The song switched to something more moderately tempo-d. There was a guitar rift before someone began singing in what sounded like English. While not as fluent as her cousin, Hinata wasn't bad in the language. But this singer seemed to mumble the words making individual sounds hard to decipher. Her brows came together as she tried hard to understand exactly what was being said. Hinata knew that complex and metaphorical poetry were her weakest points when it came to her English tutoring, but this song made her feel absolutely inept. She was certain the song couldn't be about a fish eating donuts.

"What did you apply to study, Hinata-chan?"

"Hah?" Hinata shifted her attention back to Sakura, not quite hearing what she'd asked.

Sakura giggled.

"What did you apply to study, Hinata-chan?" She repeated.

"O-oh," Hinata stuttered, a little embarrassed. "I'm in the School of Economics and Business. I'm planning on getting my degree in economics."

"Wow," Sakura said. "You must be good at mathematics and statistics then."

Hinata laughed uneasily.

"Not really," she giggled awkwardly. "I just enjoy looking at numbers is all…"

"Ah," Sakura sighed. "That's more than I can say. I struggled to get top marks for my mathematics exam."

"It isn't for everyone."

The song reached a moment of key change. The chorus was repetitive of a single phrase and Hinata tried her hardest to ignore her lack of understanding of the lyrics.

"What about you Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked. "What school did you apply to?"

Sakura perked up, as though she'd been waiting for Hinata to ask.

"School of Medicine," She said proudly.

"Really?" This time, there was real amazement in Hinata's voice.

"Yes," Sakura nodded, smiling. "I worked extra hard during my last year of high school studying to get the qualifications to apply. My parents were really supportive of me the whole time so I didn't feel too much pressure."

Hinata nodded, feeling a tinge of jealousy.

"But I want to get my degree in health science… or maybe to be a doctor…" Sakura said. "I haven't really decided on that part yet."

The two stared at each other for a few more seconds as the song came to its climatic finish with loud bangs of drums and guitars. But then complete silence as the next song seemed to come along in a whisper as compared to the previous one. Sakura's eyes wavered and she fumbled to change the song once again. Hinata this time easily lead her eyes to look back out the window as the train came to a station, letting off a few of its passengers.

A faint sound of an acoustic guitar came on, no words and just instrumental. Hinata knew this song, it had been a popular video online a few years ago before it fell through the vapid tastes that is the music world. But it brought on a set of nostalgia. She could still see in the corner of her eye that Sakura was still trying to find a different song to listen to, but Hinata leaned her head back against the window and closed her eyes.

"You can leave it on this song," Hinata said. "I don't mind."

Sakura stopped scrolling and looked back at Hinata who had her head lulled back, eyes shut, as though being on the train were the most comforting thing in the world. Sakura's thumb twitched over the song selections, but ultimately, she set it back down and unsettlingly folded her hands back into her lap. She was left to listen to the soft guitar playing alone while Hinata took a nap all the way to their stop in Sapporo.

* * *

"There are my parents," Sakura said pointing to the small blue van.

It sputtered to a stop, puffing a last grey ball of smog. Mrs. Haruno stepped out and wrapped herself further into her winter coat. When she caught sight of the two girls walking up to the front of the boarding house, Mrs. Haruno immediately waved to them. Sakura and Hinata waved back.

"How was the car ride?" Sakura asked as they got closer. "I hope our stuff wasn't too much for this old thing."

Sakura tapped the side of the car, something her family had been driving since she was little.

"It held up just fine," Mrs. Haruno assured. "Now come on, we need to get you girl's things from the car and then your father and I have to head back to the shop."

The girls nodded and both went to aid Mr. Haruno as he opened the back of the car. Hinata immediately recognized her things sitting in the back seats of the van. She did her best to take those first. She had just as many bags as Sakura, just hers were significantly smaller. It took all of the Haruno to carry what Sakura had decided to bring. Hinata made it to the top of the steps leading to the modest looking townhouse – much nicer looking than what Hinata had expected a boarding home to be.

Already standing at the top of the steps were two girls one foreigner and another one with lighter dyed hair held in two little stubs. Both looked excitingly bored, like they had been standing on that front porch for hours. Unless of course they had been, Hinata thought, making the two overly punctual considering the meeting time with the land lord wasn't until one.

"Oh, are you our third roommate?" the foreign girl asked.

She shifted a few of the bags she was holding, causing her long blond hair to fall into her eyes. Their blue hue obscured. Hinata was surprised to not hear a hint of a foreign accent anywhere in her voice.

"Yes," Hinata said, bending a bit. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata and…"

Hinata looked back at the Haruno as they struggled to get the last of Sakura's things from the trunk of the car.

"I'm Haruno Sakura!" Sakura called. "Nice to meet you two!"

The two girls simultaneously raised a brow.

"Well I'm Temari," the girl with the stubs introduced.

"And I'm Yamanaka Ino," the foreign looking (though apparently not so foreign) girl said. "I'm planning to study agriculture."

Hinata gave another small bow and nodded, acknowledging their introductions. Sakura gave her parents one last hug before making her way up to the porch with the rest of the girls. Hinata could see as Mrs. Haruno continued to watch Sakura with teary glazed eyes. When the small blue van was driving out of site, Sakura had made it to the top of the steps. The exchange happening by that point were the breaths of the tired and impatient.

"Are we just supposed to knock on the door or…?"

Just as Hinata was about to finish her question, a car pulled up just behind the spot where the Haruno's little blue van had been. Into the chill of the early spring outstepped a woman in her mid to late thirties wearing nothing but a loose blouse, slacks, and heeled boots. Her hair was loosely pulled back in a low ponytail. Her eyes were covered by horn rimmed sunglasses as she looked around. The beep of the car locking sounded when she started to walk toward the group of girls waiting at the porch. She stopped just at the bottom of the steps.

"Hello girls," she said in a sultry and bellowing voice. "I hope you all haven't been waiting too long."

"Of course not." Ino and Sakura piped together, the former having a more convincing gusto than the latter.

The woman completely ignored the response, giving no indication that she cared in the slightest. With a flick of her wrist she signaled for the girls to move to the side. They did in a hurry, feeling like this woman – despite her rather looser appearance – was strict.

"Are you our land lord?" Temari asked pointedly.

The woman took out a key from the pockets of her slacks and unlocked the front door.

"That's right!" She said. "My name is Tsunade and you girls shall know me by either Tsunade-san, Tsunade-sama, or whatever the hell you want, but never Tsunade-obaa-_anything_."

She swung the door open with a quick push and marched inside. Hesitantly the girls followed behind her. The girls quickly took their shoes off, putting on slippers that were already placed neatly at the front door.

"This is the common room, here you will find some nice couches and a TV with satellite cable." Tsunade told the girls. "There is a countered area over there where you girls can set up a makeshift kitchen but rice cookers and pots are not included. Plates, cups, bowls, and utensils can all be found in the cabinets under the counters."

Tsunade walked further into the common room, placing a hand on one of the couches.

"There are four doors behind me, so each girl gets her own room." Tsunade continued. "Each girl gets her own bed, closet, and desk. Anything extra is bought from your own pockets and will be leaving with you when you finish your stay here. There is only one bathroom with a bath, toilet, and sink. This board house does not come with a washer so I suggest you wash your clothes with a tub provided in the bathroom next to the toilet. Otherwise, the nearest public launder is a half hour train ride and even longer walk."

Taking a few paces, Tsunade took a long breath before taking a seat on the couch. Crossing her legs, she adjusted herself till she was comfortable. The girls looked awkwardly amongst themselves.

"Now here comes the important part." Tsunade sighed. "I will be very clear on the rules of this boarding house.

"One, I am not your fucking maid." Tsunade hissed. "I am your landlord and you will keep this house clean. I'm not saying it needs to be completely dust free, but for Kami's sake make sure you aren't living in a pig pen."

The girls nodded.

"Two, there is a curfew of ten Sunday through Thursday nights and a twelve midnight curfew on Friday and Saturday nights. You girls are big girls now so I'm not going to be here to enforce this one every day. But the alarm system is set to go off if anyone as so much cracks a window between curfew and six the next morning." Tsunade leaned back in the couch. "If for whatever reason you _must _be out till ungodly hours of the night, the pin is '883402'. Got it?"

The girls nodded in unison.

"Good." Tsunade barked. "Along with your punctual curfew, I also expect the same diligence with the monthly rent. It is to be paid at the beginning of every month and I will be here specifically to pick it up. You girls decide how you will divide the costs.

"Now," Tsunade leaned forwards and rested her chin on the back of her hands. "Possibly the strictest rule, here. I absolutely will not tolerate any kind of _extra_-curricular activities to be happening here in this boarding house. Do that in someone else's home but here it will give you the next eviction letter.

"This includes no parties, drugs, alcohol or other things of that sort. You will not bring over your friends for "study sessions", that's what people made libraries for dammit. And you are strictly prohibited from bringing over any boys. Father, brother… boyfriends… none. Are we clear?"

The girls nodded. Tsunade smirked.

"Alright." She lifted herself from the couch. "Now who wants some _sake_?"

From somewhere unknown, she pulled out a bottle of what looked like steaming _sake_.

"…They're under aged…" Temari dead-panned.

* * *

Hinata had set her bags down on the floor. What had, a few moments ago, been just a mattress in a wooden frame was completely sheeted with a blanket and covers and a pillow. A relatively spacious room in its self, Hinata wouldn't have much trouble filling it with her things. She laughed at the thought of how Sakura would try to fit all of her things.

When clothes had been put away and bags stowed, Hinata went out into the common room where Temari was the only girl sitting on the couch. Sakura and Ino must have still been unpacking.

"Oh hey." Temari turned to see Hinata standing a few steps away.

"Hello," Hinata replied meekly.

"You said your name was Hinata, right?" Temari asked, patting spot next to her on the couch. "Do you mind if I just call you Hinata?"

Hinata gave a tight smile, not too used to such blatant familiarities. Temari, taking note of the subtle reaction nodded.

"Then I'll just call you Hyuuga-chan for now." Temari shrugged.

"E-eh…" Hinata struggled to apologize, realizing that Temari hadn't introduced herself with her surname. "I didn't quite mean it like that…"

Temari only laughed and gently pulled Hinata down onto the couch.

"Just call me Temari. I don't really care for formalities." Temari sighed and ran a hand through her hair. Let out of their little stubs, they didn't flow much farther past her shoulders. "I have a brother about your age, Hyuuga-chan. You're about eighteen right?"

Hinata nodded.

"Yeah," Temari said. Her eyes looked off to something unknown. Her lips curved into a nostalgic smile. "I feel a little old honestly, a grad student boarding with a group of fresh university students."

"Grad student?" Hinata said in surprised.

"That's right! So you little girls better not cross me." Temari said with pride. She winked. "I have several years more experience than you girls."

Just then, Ino burst out from her room with an engrossing feeling of confidence. In her hands she had two large bottles of cloudy alcohol. A smug, toothy grin plastered its self onto her face as she stepped like a lioness after securing the dinner for her pride. She set the bottles onto the table in front of the couch before going to find glasses in the cupboard. Temari picked a bottle up and inspected it. An unknown label settled on the cool glass.

"Where'd you get this?" Temari asked.

"My dad owns a brewery up in northern Sapporo." Ino responded picking up a few glasses from the cupboard. "Here they are… We make _sake_."

"_Sake_?" Temari set the bottle down. "You expect us to drink these two massive bottles tonight? You're going to kill us before the term even starts."

Ino came over and placed the glasses down. She laughed, one hand on her hip.

"Of course we're not drinking_ all_ of this." Ino reassured. "I just have an extra one for some other time."

"Saving what for what time?" Sakura came out from her room wearing slightly more comfortable clothing.

Ino looked up, the girls had hardly noticed Sakura's entrance into the common room.

"Oh good," Ino perked up. "Now that we're all here… I thought we'd all get to know each other over a nice bottle of _sake_."

Sitting down, Ino began pouring for four glasses. Sakura came and took a seat by the table and Temari only shrugged as she leaned forwards to take up one glass. The musky looking liquid sat on the bottom of the cup, swirling. Sakura and Hinata did the same, though the latter did so with a little more hesitance. Hinata had only drunk once. It had been for her eighteenth birthday and it had only been a sip of wine from the glass of her father. She hadn't found it to have been an unpleasant experience, she actually quite liked the slight burning sensation of the alcohol as it seemed to leave a trail of warmth down her throat. But a whole glass, Hinata had flushed from just her first taste.

"Here's for a successful life!" Ino raised her glass. "May this be only the start of our reasons to toasts. _Kanpai_!"

"_Kanpai_!" The girls all said together.

Following Temari, Sakura, and Ino's lead, Hinata lifted the cup to her lips.

* * *

"Okay, okay!" Ino laughed and forcefully took a swig of sake. "Geez, how did you know that the lie was that my father is an explorer?"

Temari smirked. Her eyes were half lidded, cheeks a little pink.

"You told us what your father does." Temari said pointedly. "You're like an open book. It only gets worse now that you're completely wasted."

Ino pouted, her pupils dilated. She was completely rosy, with her hair matted to one side.

"Nah..." She drawled out. "I think you're all gangin' up on meh."

With a flaccid hand, she gave a shaky point to Hinata, the girl still as white as porcelain, the only tinge of pink coming from her slight embarrassment.

"Hiiii-na-ta…tan," Ino managed to slur. "She's like a min' reader or somethin'…"

Ino burst into a loud bellowing fit of laughter.

"Ah," Ino sighed. "Okay, Forehead, you're turn."

Sakura was possibly the second to most drunk. Her lips turned up into a wiggling grin, she was gone far enough to no longer care that Ino was making fun of her large brow and instead laughed at the nickname. She was leaning back on an arm while her free hand held a quarter full cup of sake.

"Al'ight…" Sakura huffed and righted herself. "So one, I have pink hair."

She giggled.

"Two… my dad's a dentist." Sakura wobbled a little. "Three-"

Sakura giggled a little more. She set her drink down and slip her head into the crook of her palm.

"Or three, my first kiss was with my firs' love."

"I call BS on the firs' kisssss," Ino was quick to slur.

"Here's Piggy-chan!" Sakura reached over to hold Ino's glass to her face.

Temari laughed out and didn't bother to point out that she and Hinata hadn't made their guess yet. It may not have looked it, but Temari too hand about reached her tolerance level. She wasn't one to begin giggling like a little school girl, she was a quieter type, one that would much rather take a nap after a few drinks. But playing with the girls was fun in its own way, it made her think of herself when she was younger.

Ino comically resisted the glass at first but in the end took down the last drops. Letting out a satisfied breath, she slammed the glass down onto the table.

"Alrigh' Hinata-tan!" Ino pointed.

Hinata gave a cunning little smile. She held her glass out and looked at the table of girls. She thought for a moment.

"One, I used to stutter." Hinata began. "Two, I know how to make cheesecake… or three…."

Hinata paused and looked how half lidded everyone looked around her. She felt a little tinge of guilt seeing all of their half wasted expressions.

"…I've never tasted alcohol before."

Hinata said the words a little slower and eyed Sakura, Ino, and Temari. Her fingers fiddled on the smooth surface of her now lukewarm glass of _sake_. As though she had had a sudden revelation, Ino jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger a little off Hinata.

"The last one!" She screamed. "I call lies on the last one!"

Hinata giggled while the other two girls agreed with less audible nods.

"Is that so?" Hinata said. "If that's the consensus then I guess it's cheers for me."

"Great!" Ino heaved as she tipped onto her back. "Hah! I've finally got one of your li'l games Hinata-tannn. I thin' my luck is turnin'!"

"Heh," Temari gave a lazy snorted. "About time. I've been waiting to see this little princess take a little sip."

Hinata only raised her glass almost ceremoniously. She held it out and Sakura gave their glasses a small _clink_. Sakura giggled and smiled to Hinata.

Hinata smiled back and closed her eyes as she took a gulp from her cup. The burn of something a little dryer than she would have liked left a harsher sting in the back of her throat than the wine. A trail of something hot was left and Hinata started coughing. It was a pungent taste.

Temari, sympathetically started to pat Hinata's back. Ino held her stomach as she laughed and only took the glass from Hinata's hands.

"I think there was a good reason why you made it so hard for us to guess your lies." Temari said.

"I think this should be enou' sake for us! I'm happy now-," Ino managed between her drunken chortling. "I got your cup now!"

Sakura giggled lightly and took in the last of her _sake_ before handing her glass over. Hinata wiped her mouth, her coughing fit only just subsiding to small breaths. She cleared her throat a few times and thankfully looked at Temari.

There was a _ping _from Sakura's direction and Sakura jumped a little from her seat on the floor. She started to giggle a little at her own actions and reached into her pant pocket. Ino was half sprawled on the table having stopped mid clean up and had decided to pass out instead. Temari, too, looked a little heavy lidded. Her head lulled a just a little over Hinata's shoulder, and once it made contact, she was completely out.

Patting the older woman on the head, Hinata gently lifted her head up so that it would be easier to get up. Putting one arm over her shoulder, Hinata lifted the two of them and started dragging Temari back to her room. Temari was definitely heavier than she looked, and Hinata wanted to ask Sakura for help. But seeing as the girl laughed quietly to herself, body laying carelessly on the floor, Hinata doubted she could carry her own weight, much less someone else's – at least in a drunken state.

Ino had been a little easier to carry back to her room. The girl flailed more, but at least she weighed perhaps three quarters of what Temari felt like. But when she went to get Sakura, the girl was no longer there on the floor. Instead, she was back where the little kitchen area was supposed to be. The glasses had been placed in the sink and the extra bottle of _sake_ still remained on the table. Hinata wasn't too sure what to do with it so she'd left it.

"Hiii-nata-chan," Sakura slurred when Hinata came up beside her.

Sakura, unable to contain a small fit of giggles began to helplessly lean against Hinata. Hinata caught Sakura in her arms and lifted the girl to her feet, Sakura's face about as pink as her hair.

"Yes, Sakura-chan?" Hinata said softly.

Sakura grinned.

"My friends are so funny," Sakura said. "The one that didn't wake up till noon is fine'ly in Sappo'o!"

Hinata must have also started feeling the effects of the alcohol because despite failing to see the hilarity, she found herself laughing a little along with Sakura.

"Alright Sakura-chan," Hinata started. "We should get you back to your room."

"Oh really Hinata-chan?" Sakura giggled. "Oh, are you coming too?"

Hinata slowly lead Sakura to her room, one steady hand at her back. Sakura giggled the whole way, even saying incoherent and nonsensical words. When Hinata finally reached Sakura's room, it didn't take long for Sakura to also fall completely asleep. As soon as Sakura was through the doors, it took a certain amount of maneuvering in order to be sure she didn't fall face first into the desk.

Hinata, feeling her face a little flushed, was also tired by the end. Fanning herself with one hand, she managed to get Sakura under her covers. Leaving Sakura's room, Hinata closed the door behind herself. She'd left a glass of water for each of the girls to drink when they'd finally woken up. She figured that there was bound to be some hangovers and headaches in the morning.

To get back to her room, Hinata needed to walk to the other end of the common room. Sakura and her room were the farthest from each other, Temari's being the closest to Hinata. While walking back to her room, Hinata didn't realize how quiet their little boarding house could be. The past few hours had been spent with laughter, cheers, and drinking games. The silence was odd. But in the silence, Hinata could finally hear the buzzing of a phone that had been left in the middle of the floor.

As soon as Hinata walked over to check, the buzzing had stopped. A little pink handheld phone sat abandoned in the middle of either the cleaning up or goofing around. But Hinata recognized the little pink phone to be Sakura's – at least judging by the color scheme. There was a _ping_ as the phone's screen came to lite.

'_6 missed calls_' it read.

Hinata was surprised. Had that all been in just the last half hour? She figured she should return the phone to Sakura and made a bee line for her room. But she was startled when it began to buzz right in her palms. She'd almost dropped it, her fingers clumsily trying to keep hold. But with a tight grip, Hinata managed to grasp it just before it completely slipped through her fingers.

"Hello…?" A muffled voice came from the receiver.

Hinata jumped. She must have pressed the answer button on accident.

"Hello?" The voice sounded sterner. "Sakura?"

Hinata winced, figuring that whoever was on the other end would be – if not already – worried about Sakura if they weren't told anything. But usually Hinata would have just left the situation be. It wasn't her place to answer a drunk girls phone, even if it was a persistent caller. There definite signs that the alcohol was having some kind of effect on her. Hesitantly, Hinata lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello…" She said, a small tremor in her voice. "Um, I'm Sakura-chan's… friend."

There was a pause. The other end was silent.

"Hello…?" Hinata tried again.

"You're her friend?" The voice sounded male. Male and skeptical.

"Yes," Hinata said. "I live with her…"

Another pause.

"I see." The voice said. There seemed to be no emotion in it, something blank and dull sounding. "Is she there?"

Hinata swallowed.

"She…" Hinata stopped herself. "We, had a few drinks and-,"

"I know. She was telling me." The voice cut in. "Did she pass out?"

"Yes… She's asleep now. Ah…" Hinata felt a little intimidated by the lack of empathy in the voice at the other end. It felt like being questioned for a crime. "I made sure to put her to bed. She should be fine now."

There was the silence again.

"I could tell her to call you in the morning." Hinata offered. "Can I ask who this is?"

No response.

"Hello…?" Hinata said into the phone.

A faint breath could be heard on the other end of the line. A small murmur.

"Excuse me?" Hinata's eyes squinted as she tried to hear what the person on the other end was saying. "Hel…?"

"Tell her Sasuke called."

The line went dead. Hinata dropped the phone.

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

_Sake: An alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. It has an alcoholic percentage of about 16 percent. _

_I wish everyone a lovely week and weekend! All reviews are very much appreciated! Even anonymous ones._


	4. 1-3: First Nights

_**NOTE: **Happy belated May the 4th!_

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

**1.3: First Nights**

* * *

The worst thing about waking up with a hangover are the ungodly headaches. The worst thing about waking up with people with hangovers are the complaints about the headaches. Sentiments could not be truer as Hinata found herself cooking breakfast for three not-feeling-too-good girls sitting with their heads flattened to the island counter. Hinata didn't mind cooking, in fact she was used to handling herself with a pot and stove. But cooking without either a pot or a stove would pose a great problem – anytime really – this morning especially.

"Is breakfast ready yet?" Someone groaned.

"Yes, yes," Hinata cooed gently.

She felt like a mother and her chicks. Setting down three small bowls of rice porridge, Hinata felt quite content with herself. On such short notice, finding a rice cooker was a miracle in its self; especially when she'd found that she had barely grabbed enough money to buy the groceries.

The girls hungrily spooned what was in their bowls as if etiquette took second to curing the aching drumming at their temples. Each had already downed a glass or two of water by the time they'd finished with their breakfast. Ino was a girl of many talents as she managed to place her bowl into the sink while looked completely asleep. Sakura and Temari did their best to get off their stools without fumbling, Hinata in the end took their bowls for them.

"Thanks for the breakfast, Hyuuga-chan," Temari said patting Hinata gently on the back. The two other girls echoed her words and Ino let out a yawn and stretched out her hands.

"Kami, my head…" Sakura groaned. Her bubblegum hair fluffed and stuck around her head every which way.

"You all seemed to fall asleep just fine, though." Hinata giggled pouring Sakura another glass of water.

Sakura took the glass gratefully and downed half the cup in one slugging gulp. Temari had finally managed to pull herself off her stool and stood balancing her weight on the counter top. Ino didn't make as much effort to keep herself upright, she slouched and rested a cheek on the palm of her hand, yawning. Hinata half leaned her back onto the marble behind her, arms crossed as she watched her roommates try and get over a night of too much drinking.

"Are you guys all right to be walking anywhere outside?" Hinata asked, amused.

"Of course." Ino waved her hand and gave a lazy, half quirked smile. "Just give me an hour or two."

"An hour or two? Might as well say goodnight now." Temari joked. At least she tried to act the most nonchalant of the three, but truth was that she was the worst when it came to hangovers.

Sakura had finished her glass, and rubbed it between her palms just playing with it. Heaving a long breath that brought her shoulders up, then down, she slowly slid herself off the stool. Rubbing her temples, she silently shuffled her feet to the bathroom door. For a while, she just stood there, one hand against the frame. Then, Sakura managed to get herself inside and start the bath.

* * *

"It's April!" Ino screamed. "How can it still be this frigid in April?"

It had warmed since that morning, but Hinata still wore her winter coat and scarf. There was no snow and the sun was shining brightly as the girls stepped off the train. The station was just a few blocks from the entrance to the university. Assuming what their landlord, Tsunade, had said was true, Hokkaido University was closer to their boarding house than a launder – though not by much.

The people walking along the streets ranged from older couples taking walks to young children as they screamed and played, enjoying the last of their spring vacation. It was a pleasant scenery with song birds chirping within the barren branches of trees that lined the main pathway into the university. Hinata had seen awesome pictures of the very same road in the fall with leaves of every shade in the sunset. While this was a stark contrast (there being no leaves at all, it was still beautiful none the less.

Temari looked down to her phone, she had pulled up a map of the campus and did her best to make out exactly where everything was. Once everyone had gotten ready after breakfast, they all agreed that it would be best to familiarize themselves before classes began the next day. It felt like being lead into the forest of buildings of Tokyo without the ability to speak Japanese. The map reading skills of the girls was perhaps equated to that. Several times, they found that they were not exactly in the correct portion of campus.

Sakura, a few times, would turn to ask someone passing by to point them in the right direction. There were few students or professors walking around. Hinata assumed that most of them were enjoying their last day of complete freedom till the summer holidays. A couple of prospective students and their families would sometimes join their small group, asking the girls for advice on being admitted. A common question were whether they had used tutors to help them with the entrance exam and what their intended majors were.

The children of the families all had diverse personalities. A few were passive, yet with a very cunning gaze that would shoot from one end of their vision to the other. A couple seemed outgoing and a little nervous to be asking help from a stranger while others were bashful and simply allowed their parents to make inquiries.

Three past noon, the girls found themselves – unintentionally – at the front gates again. Having found the essential department buildings, Ino and Temari both expressed how tired they were and suggested that they head back to the boarding house.

"I'm a little scared to see what is going to happen to us tomorrow," Ino laughed.

"Well, we were also mostly alone," Sakura said. "It might be easier tomorrow when there are other people who attend the same classes as us going as well."

"Yeah, just follow the masses. At least we found where our departments are _supposed _to be." Temari said.

The girls were walking down the road to get to the train station. Just a bit away from their destination, Sakura stopped and looked at a little shop at the side of the road. Hinata stopped along with her.

"Are you hungry Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.

Temari and Ino both stopped in their tracks after realizing that Sakura nor Hinata were no longer following them. Hinata saw the sign in the door's window claiming that they carried a _katsu curry _special. The blinds were shut, yet the hours said they were open. A small makeshift awning kept most of the front clean from any residue from snow or bird feces.

"I guess we could use for a bit of something to eat." Temari said walking to the door.

Grabbing the handle, she opened it and stepped in. The little restaurant was smaller than what it looked on the outside and dimly lit. There was one table on both the left and right side of the shop, seeming like either one could barely seat three people. The walls all were painted a deep moss green, a color that blended with the dirty green carpet while few traditional paintings were hung crooked on the walls. In the back stood an old man, his hair long and grey as they fell like a mane alongside his wrinkled cheeks. He was hefty with large boulder like hands and feet. He held some kind of magazine of _hentai, _lazily leaning against the wall crossing one foot over the other. At noticing the girls walking in, his demeanor completely changed as the magazine seemed to suddenly disappear somewhere through the door behind him. He took a low bow and gave a large toothy smile.

"Welcome, girls, to Jiraiya's Kitchen; I'm Jiraiya!" He bellowed. "I serve everything and anything so long as you can call it comfort food."

Temari raised a brow and had half a mind to slowly take her and the other girls out of there. But she just slowly nodded.

"Do we just take a seat anywhere?" She asked, distrustful.

"Anywhere you'd like to, girls." Jiraiya motioned for the girls to sit with one of his large hands.

As Temari made the first move to take her seat, Jiraiya had disappeared into the back only to come back with four menus. The girls had taken a seat on the right side of the shop and gave their thanks as Jiraiya set the menus and several cups of tea down in front of them.

The girls spent the first few minutes in silence as they looked the menu over. When Jiraiya came back, he had a notepad and pen in hand.

"So have you girls decided?" He asked.

They looked at one another, not a word of hesitance.

"I believe so," Sakura said.

"Alright then," Jiraiya boomed.

After they had had their orders taken, Jiraiya once again disappeared into the back. The girls, quietly sipped their tea. There was a wall of silence that seemed to build between them. Realizing that up until then, the girls had not had a real conversation void of customaries or alcohol – which by one stand point meant that they all were off to a terrible start as roommates. Sakura stared into her cup as Ino examined her nails. Temari peered between the gaps in the closed blinds to the street. And Hinata kept her head low, peering up every once and a while to stare at them.

This would be their first _real _meal together, and the thought seemed to have dawned on them as they all looked up to meet each other's gazes. Ino and Sakura seemed to both make attempts to say something, though neither one was completely coherent. Then together:

"You go first… No really… I said you…"

Then they both stared at each other, or stared down each other. Temari and Hinata just looked between the two and started to laugh. It was hard to not see the obvious similarities between the two and how they contrasted with each other in the oddest complementing way that seemed to fuel an instant rivalry between the both of them. An electrical current seemed to bridge the space between their eyes.

"Wow, you two sure are a lively pair."

The girls looked up to find Jiraiya already standing with four large plates of food. He carefully set each down and warned them to not burn themselves.

"Go ahead and try them, I always like to see what my customers think on their first impressions." Jiraiya encouraged. "Go on, try some."

The girls looked to him, a smile on his face that seemed so expectant.

"_Itadakimasu_," the girls said together.

Then, each one slowly took their spoons and dug into their plates, taking small bites at first. But once the food hit their tongues, none could resist at least a smile. Sakura and Ino let out loud sighs in amazement. Temari nodded, not at all expecting the food to taste the way it did. Hinata loved how creamy the sauce was, the meat being just tender enough, and the carrots not being over cooked. Nothing was too salty or too bland, there was a good balance.

"This is really good," Temari said, sounding a little disbelieving.

Jiraiya ran a hand through his mane of grey.

"Well, of course it is," He said comically. He laughed. "I'm happy you girls like it. Do you girls happen to be students at Hokkaido U?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Ino responded, her mouth half full.

Jiraiya gave a certain kind of look. It was one where his head dropped down so that his chin was at an angle, eyes staring strangely up at you. His fingers were shaped to an L at his chin, a strange smile that seemed to say 'I know all' set across his face.

"My eyes know, you girls look like a bunch of Hokkaido University gals." Jiraiya responded, his voice seeming to have taken on a satirical change.

"Perv," Temari said coolly while taking another bite from her plate.

Jiraiya looked at her, bemused.

"What, do you think I'm just some creep old man who prays on college girls with nice bodies to come into my shop looking for good, top quality dishes? Is that what you're accusing me of?" He continued to use his amusing affectation, causing the other girls to laugh just a little.

Temari just looked at him, not sparing a bit of emotion.

"That sounds almost like a confession." She said pointedly. Her spoon made another dive for a bite of rice.

"And what do you think, little miss?" Jiraiya asked. He patted the back of Hinata's chair.

"Oh, it's very good." Hinata said, looking up to him a little startled.

He paused and stared at her for a minute. Hinata, feeling slightly uncomfortable turned her gaze back to her plate. Jiraiya just laughed.

"You have some striking eyes, miss." He told her. "Well, if you girls need anything I'll just be in the back."

Then, once more he disappeared, leaving the girls to enjoy their food.

"He is one strange old man, right?" Sakura said, a bit unsure if she should bring it up.

"Creep I say," Temari said coolly.

"I'll say." Ino agreed. "But he sure makes some good food. So I guess we can't complain."

"Good food or not," Temari said between bites, "That's just how he lures people into his little side road shack."

"It's on the main road, no one can really miss this place." Sakura commented to herself.

"Lighten up Temari," Ino said, "enjoy the food and we'll get our asses out of here as soon as possible, yeah?"

"Whatever…"

Temari just continued to eat the food without any further suspicions. Ino dug into her plate with a kind of animal like grace that made hasty eating look unconventionally attractive. There was a piece of rice stuck to her bottom lip, but none of the girls – nor Ino – really took notice. Hinata watched as Sakura ate, and she noticed that it was similar to how Sakura seemed to have started to drink the night before. There was hesitance when Sakura scooped up her food, and almost a strain look in her eyes as she brought it to her mouth. It looked like she were thinking of exactly how to eat, like there was a specific way that she should eat. It wasn't too noticeable, but Hinata would be caught staring. Sakura, feeling someone's gaze on her, slowly turned her head and faced Hinata.

"Is there something on my face?" Sakura asked.

Quickly she reached up to wipe the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

"No, no…" Hinata said frantic, her head dipped. "There isn't anything. I was just… wondering about the time and must have stared off."

"Oh," Sakura shrugged. Then, she thought about it herself and said, "What is the time now?"

"Can't be too much past three right?" Ino offered. "Why are you asking us, don't you have your own phone?"

Sakura blushed sheepishly.

"No, I left it back in my room." She defended. "I woke up this morning and it was all out of battery. I didn't plug it in last night."

Hinata froze mid chew. No one noticed the moment of hesitation. She swallowed and covered her mouth as she remembered the events of the night before. It was ridiculous, Hinata thought to herself, that she would feel so flustered by a simple phone call. It hadn't been addressed to her and the voice on the other end seemed to care less who she was, why should she care at all who could have possibly been at the other end of the line? Names were not given to only one person, she had assured herself the night before, there had to be a couple of other Hinata in the world out there. But it did stay on her mind that she hadn't yet told Sakura about the phone calls.

When the girls had all finished their meals, Jiraiya seemed to come out just at the right time to hand them the bill. The food was dirt cheap, the girls had no complaints when splitting the check. They thanked the old man and walked out. There were a few more people on the streets as it seemed that it was the prime time for workers to come off shift. As they walked alongside the many others making their way to the station, Hinata and Sakura found themselves lagging a little farther behind.

"Sakura-chan?" Hinata tried to gain Sakura's attention.

Sakura turned to look at Hinata.

"Yes?" she said.

"Oh…" Hinata started. "About last night…"

Sakura laughed, "Did I ever properly thank you for taking care of us?"

"It isn't really about that."

"Well, thank you anyways."

"You're welcome," Hinata said quietly. "It's about your phone. After I got you all into bed. Someone called."

"Really?" Sakura said.

"He said just to say that Sasuke called." Hinata paused. "He seemed worried about you."

The two girls stared at each other. Somewhere in the mass of people, they seemed to have lost Ino and Temari in the crowd. They didn't think much of it, everyone knew how to get back to the boarding house. But while waiting on the platform, Sakura smiled and giggled under her breath.

"Did he really?" She asked.

Hinata didn't know what she was asking about. Did she want to know if this man named Sasuke called? Or did she want to know if he really seemed worried? Either way, Hinata responded with the positive and this seemed to make Sakura's grin grow a wider. A small pink blush rose to her cheeks.

"Tell me Hinata-chan," Sakura said. She looked up and her pink hair began to fly all around her, the train was arriving. It came to a stop and her hair flattened down. Looking back to Hinata, she had a playful gleam in her eyes, a mischievous lift in her smile. "Should I call him back or let him wait?"

* * *

"I'm glad you've settled in fine."

"Yeah," Hinata said quietly into the receiver of her phone. "Do you have to go now Neji-nii?"

"I do Hinata-sama." Neji said a little playfully from the other end of the line. "It's late in Japan right now, you should get some sleep."

"I will," Hinata lied. "I'm happy you called."

"Of course," he responded. "Go to bed now Hinata."

"Alright…"

"I mean it," Neji said more sternly.

Hinata giggled.

"Okay, I will. Study hard Neji-nii." Hinata said. She waited for him to hang up first before hanging up herself.

Hinata stood out on the porch, her winter coat wrapped firmly around her, Hinata had thought that she would get some fresh air before bed. It was originally meant to clear her mind so that she could back into her room and fall right to sleep, but instead, all the early spring air did was wake her up more. While getting the unexpected call from her brother was a pleasant surprise and had put her a little more at ease, going back in now would be no better than staying out there. Ino and Temari had immediately crashed once they all had reached their boarding house.

Sakura and Hinata had both just drank some water and flipped through the television channels. Every once and a while someone would ask to stay on one station a little longer to see what was going on, in the end, the two had settled to watch a television showing of all the last three Star Wars movies.

"Aren't you cold?"

Hinata stood immediately at hearing the voice behind her. Sakura was standing at the door in her pajamas and winter coat. She smiled and stepped out onto the porch, arms crossed trying to retain her body heat.

"Sakura-chan."

"You never seem cold, tell me, what's your secret?" Sakura asked playfully.

"You aren't asleep?" Hinata ignored the original question to ask her own. She'd thought everyone had fallen asleep.

"Well I'm out here right?" Sakura laughed. The wind blew and she shivered. "You should come back in, it's freezing."

Hinata smiled and shrugged.

"I haven't really been bothered by the cold for a while." She said. "I just don't feel it, I guess."

"Lucky," Sakura said. "Why are you out here all alone?"

"My brother called, I didn't want to wake anyone." Hinata responded.

"You did mention you had a brother," Sakura nodded.

Hinata laughed.

"You were sober enough to remember that much."

"Oh hush." Sakura blushed but laughed along. "I actually have wonderful memory I'll have you know."

Then they fell into silence again. Hinata placed her hands in her pockets in time with a sigh that made her shoulders rise and fall. Sakura took a few steps forward and leaned against the railing. Watching her for a moment, Hinata went to join her.

"I called him," Sakura said almost sadly. "He leaves me six messages and all he has to say is 'good to hear.'"

Immediately, Hinata knew Sakura was talking about the boy from the phone call. And Hinata could perfectly imagine the deep set and huskier voice of the boy speaking in an indifferent and detached tone. Like an automaton, no feeling or opinion. Bleak and completely uncaring, though the actions seemed to tell otherwise.

"But I'm used to it," Sakura sighed. "He's kind of always been like that since middle school."

Hinata saw the way Sakura talked about him. There was a glimmer and dreaminess in her eyes. Her voice also got softer, like talking to a sleeping baby. She rested her chin in her palm and pouted, but immediately laughed.

Then something clicked.

"Is this the same guy you always talk about?" Hinata asked.

"I think I might be a little obsessed." Sakura said more to herself than to Hinata. "I told him he should call me later because I needed to take a bath. Really, I'm just out here with you."

Hinata wanted to say something, but felt like Sakura didn't really come out to talk. So she remained silent and let Sakura stand there. The two of them were there together and looked into the dark that was in front of them. It wasn't long before Sakura decided it was too cold to be outside and opted to go back in. Hinata, feeling slightly uncomfortable said that she would stay out there for a while longer. At first, Sakura was insistent that they go back in together. But ultimately, Hinata was left alone on the porch.

In her head, she counted to one hundred, slowly. She even waited an extra ten seconds after reaching the number before turning to go back inside. Quietly, she shut the door, careful not to wake anyone. A mixture of both Ino and Sakura's light snores could be heard though their closed doors.

It was otherwise silent. The common room was empty, dully colored furniture in their needed places. Alone, Hinata made her way to the restroom. She turned on the water for the bath. Placing her phone on the windowsill on top of the tub, she plugged it in along with all the other cellphones. It wasn't the safest place to charge a phone they had all realized, but the lack of outlets in their boarding house was amazing. So while it wasn't the best spot, there wasn't really anywhere else they all could charge their phones.

She stripped off her coat and clothes. Leaving herself bare in the steam accumulating. When the tub had completely filled she turned off the faucet and slowly stuck one foot in. She was careful not to slip. But when one of the phones started ringing, she was startled. Forget care and grace, she lost balance and crashed into the tub. Water splashed over the side and she hit her head against the edge. Perhaps it was payback for the night before, how she was the only one this morning who didn't wake up with a throbbing headache. Because now she certainly felt one.

Rubbing her head, Hinata let the phone ring. She didn't want to check whose it was, her phone, Temari's, Ino's, Sakura's… all she could really focus on was the pulsing pain at the back of her skull. She checked to make sure there was no blood, and thank Kami there wasn't. A few moments later, the ringing stopped. Slowly sinking into the water, she closed her eyes trying to forget her clumsy accident.

Until the ringing started again. Hinata's eyes shot open.

Bubbles rose to the surface of the water when she groaned. Her eyes rolled up as she stared the line of phones on the edge of the window sill. One of them had caused her immense pain which she did not appreciate at all. But she decided to ignore it and continued with her bath. Soaking her hair, the insistent ring of the phone continued. It would sometimes be muffled through the medium of the water, then come back to blaring life when she exited.

After that, it didn't seem to ring again. She stepped out from the tub and pulled the drain. The water swirled and disappeared into the pipes. Drying herself with a towel, she wiped the mirror clear of precipitation from her bath. Examining herself, she swore she could see a bump forming in the back of her head. The phone rang again.

Feeling a little annoyed, Hinata snapped her attention to the window sill. She strut over to see whose phone was ringing. But whose she saw, she half expected and half dread. A little pink phone on the corner was lit in life, "_Incoming call from Uchiha Sasuke_".

She should have left it there to ring. She should have just picked up her things, went back to her room, and pretend like she never saw it ringing. In fact, she should have just rejected the call and save the whole boarding house the noise. Or better yet, she should have brought it to Sakura. That would have been the more practical thing to do, bring it to the person who was being called.

And yet she found her hand reaching out to grab it. Reached out to grab it and watched her own needle like fingers press the 'receive' button.

"H-hello…?" Her own voice betrayed her. Stuttering.

"Sakura." The cold and detachedness of his voice was surreal, unhuman.

"She's asleep…" Hinata said coolly, trying her best to hide the tremble in her voice.

"Oh."

The voice didn't sound disappointed, it didn't sound sad. There was no hint of happiness or expectancy. She couldn't even tell if there had been any inflection at all in the way he spoke. It was monotone and bored.

"Tell her that Sasuke called."

"This is Hinata."

Silence.

There was a silence and a heavy feeling of instant regret filled her throat. She shouldn't have answered the phone. She really shouldn't have answered the phone. Her hands shook, and her mouth felt dry. It was wrong of her, this wasn't her place to do something like that. She and Sakura weren't even that close of friends.

"Hina-…!"

She hung up.

Immediately, she hung up the phone and let her hand slide to her sides. She felt sick and dirty. Wiping her face with a hand, she heard the phone start ringing again. Hastily, she put the phone back on the window sill and rejected the call. She picked up her things and made her way to the door. But the phone rang again.

She paused.

She looked back.

Her mind spun, and she thought about it again. She should have left. She knew she should have just left. But something in her, something from a deep and dark and lonely part of her pulled her toward it. And she picked up the phone again.

"Hello…?" Hinata said slowly.

The line was silent. If she listened closely, the faint sounds of small breaths could be heard on the other end. But it was silent.

"Hinata…?" the voice said after a few moments.

She hesitated.

"H-how…" she paused. "H-how are you… S-Sasuke-kun?"

He chuckled.

"You still stutter?"

She found herself blushing.

"How are you?" She asked again.

"I've been… all right?" He said. "How have you been?"

She lightly squeezed the phone. How was she supposed to react? To a boy she barely knew and one she hardly could remember. A boy that haunted her for days… months… she would sometimes unconsciously think about him, years after the last time she saw him. And now she could hear his voice, distorted and mixed by static. She could hear his voice but not see his face. The two didn't match. What she imagined of him and what she was hearing, the two didn't fit together. The voice of a man and the image of a boy.

"I've been good… I guess?" She finally responded.

"That's," he stopped, "good…?"

The tightening feeling in her chest constricted her breath and made it more difficult to breath.

"You-…"

They had spoken at the same time. And in their flustered state, both immediately stopped. Neither offered the other to go first, neither spoke up first. Time felt like it zoomed, stopped, and slowed all at the same time in the seconds that they decided to let the silence travel down the line.

"You go to Hokkaido?" One of them finally said.

"You should get to bed." The other responded instead.

"Okay."

"I see."

And with heavy reluctance, the line went dead.

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

_Katsu Curry: A kind of curry served with breaded pork cutlet  
Hentai: A Japanese word literally meaning "pervert" or "perverted", and is also a genre of pornographic Japanese comics_

_Rushed, yet not. This is the end of First Nights, I hope you've enjoyed it. I'm glad so many of you are liking it so far. The next update won't be for a while as I have exams all this month. But I hope this ties you over till my next update._

_Please leave a review!_


	5. 0-2: Interlude

_**NOTICE: **There will be interludes between each "chapter" and take place before the current timeline of events. Next update will continue where the story left off._

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* * *

**0.2: Interlude**

_Wasn't it obvious?_

People don't always do what is obvious. They do what is compulsive and tugging in the moment. It's natural and necessary for survival. Back in the days of primal behavior it was either do or don't, and when faced with moments of terror or strong emotions, doing nothing often led to injury, suffering, and/or death.

It can be called a fight or flight response. That feeling of adrenaline as it roars through your veins, making your pupils dilate for wider vision and heart pound. It is a response that helps you live – that makes you live.

But that wasn't me.

I was not the kid that took risks and jumped off the bridge because all the other kids did. I didn't wander into the corners of the classroom that I didn't know. I would never be seen talking to a stranger in any situation. I was timid and mousy, never meting eyes with the person talking to me. I couldn't walk to school alone like some kids in my class, I always had to drive with my mother. And when I had reached an age where it no longer was "acceptable" a boy from a few houses away offered to take me.

His "subtle" shows of affect for me disturbed me because of their lack of subtleness. But no matter how hard I pouted and cried, my mother refused to take me to school any longer.

"Sakura-chan, why do you always ignore me?"

Even after a year taking the same road with him, I could never get used to his closeness. It was better than before, and for months I had been calculating in my head the exact words that I needed in order to get my point across. And I had concluded that with him, there was no _best _way. It was either say it direct or be silent, Naruto was not the kind of kid that understood hidden meaning and undertone.

"Because I don't feel comfortable with you around."

I told it to him as caringly as I could. Which turned out to have been about as much as a droplet of dew in an ocean of leaves. He just laughed. And I receded within myself. Wasn't it obvious that that was the exact response I didn't want? But I knew people never really were that obvious, just to me. I was always calculating, thinking, over analyzing everything anyone did around me. I never wanted to really understand anything, it just all unraveled for me.

Like watching as a slide of a movie moved from left to right. Everything, even if it had been unclear before, revealed itself like a picture book in front of me. I was always told I was smart. People always said that I had a keen eye and bright mind. I knew I was smart. But I never asked to be.

"Then I guess I'll just stay close enough till you get used to me."

And that was Naruto. He was the carefree class clown that others loved to poke fun of, but secretly pitied. A kid orphaned at such a young age and taken under the wing of his godfather, the town's young hermit and chief of police. Only someone heartless would choose to fully ostracize him. Sure, Naruto had his worries, everyone does. But for him, he could push and shake them off better than anyone I had ever seen. Maybe that was why I couldn't fully hate him. I also secretly wished I could just live life so impulsively like he did.

It was the end of summer holidays and that morning in my seventh year the halls were in abuzz with rumors. Someone from our class had said that the old couple living down the street had had a moving truck stationed outside of it all weekend. And that someone also claimed that there were now two boys living in that house, one who was supposed to start in our year. Eniwa was so sleepy, even little news like that seemed the most exciting of things. Even I was interested in the story. So interested even, usually when the teacher walked in we'd all take our seats like obedient children. This time the chatting and crowding continued. But all it took was a snap of the ruler to grab our attention.

"This is unlike you," the teacher had said, "Now take your seats, we have a new student here today."

Words were enough for us all to immediately take our places. In silence, the anticipation could have been felt with the slice of a knife. And it's amazing what can shoot through someone's mind in short periods of time. The moment I heard a foot step into the room, there were a million things that swept over me. Questions on how this new student would look, how he or she would act. Did this person like to play with other kids or sit in the back of the room and read a book? Would I like this new student?

A million thoughts swept over me in that first step, a million more swept over me when he turned to face the class. Average height, black hair, black eyes, angled jaw with lips closed into an indifferent line. He had his hands in his uniform pocket and he didn't make even the slightest effort to look at our class. The slouch in his back and stiffness in his knees all screamed of his reluctance to be standing up there in front of us. Maybe he thought himself better than all of us. Maybe he had stage fright.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke," the teacher said. "He will be in our class from now on. Haruno-san."

"Yes," I responded.

"Please stand up." The teacher commanded.

I did as I was told.

"Uchiha-san, your seat will be right behind Haruno-san, if you have any questions when a teacher is not around, please refer to her, she is the class representative."

"Of course," he breathed. Then halfheartedly, he gave a bow.

"Please take your seat, Uchiha-san."

Without a sense of urgency, he walked down the aisle. His head remained low, eyes down. A dragging stride, he walked like trudging through snow. He only lifted his gaze once as he past me with stony eyes. My breath hitched.

"You may take your seat now, Haruno-san."

I had not realized that even after he had dropped his bag and sat down, I was still standing. Sheepish, I took my seat and hoped that no one noticed that my face was furiously red. My heart pounded and my hands felt clammy. Unsure of what exactly my body was reacting to, I thought that it must have been because of how embarrassed I was. I never lost my composure as "smart little Sakura", I was too calculating to let it happen. That was what I was trying to convince myself it was.

Weeks went by. Sasuke made no moves to interact with anyone, and no one dared to approach him. He had a brooding presence and while I felt responsible for him because of my class duties, a part of me feared public rejection for my efforts. If he rejected my help, wouldn't it have made him seem even less approachable? That was the excuse I gave. Trying to catch him alone was also impossible. He came to school, and without a word he immediately left once the ending bell rang. His brother was always patiently waiting by the gates. You wouldn't have guessed that they were brothers, their personalities and facial features looked completely opposite of each other.

"Bastard."

Naruto made no effort to make the comment subtle. Sasuke took to his chair like he heard nothing.

"Bastard…" He repeated, this time louder and more drawn out.

Sasuke, again, acted like he heard nothing. Naruto wouldn't take it. Since his entrance into our everyday lives, Naruto had made it clear to me how he didn't like the attitude that Sasuke exerted. He had ranted to me on our walks to school how he didn't like that cool and aloof personality. I never interjected, even if I thought it was unwise of Naruto to show such open annoyance. I could understand Naruto. Sasuke was someone who was hard to read, and I originally felt put off by that. A person I couldn't understand in the slightest.

"Bastard," Naruto said one more time. His voice started low, then rose at the end and left with an inflection. There was no doubt that he did it on purpose to seem obnoxious. "Bas-…"

"A child born out of wedlock." Sasuke interrupted.

Naruto blinked.

"What…?"

Sasuke closed his work book.

"Bastard," he started, "is a child born out of wedlock. I assumed because you were repeating it so many times, you wanted someone to define it for you."

Naruto's eyes squinted. Next thing anyone knew, he was leaning against Sasuke's desk, one hand on the back of his chair leaning in to stare.

"I wasn't asking for a definition_ Bastard_." Naruto growled.

"Could have fooled me, dead last." Sasuke coolly shot back.

"Dead… _last_…?"

Sasuke met Naruto's glare with an equal amount of defiance.

"I figured that if you're insistent on calling me 'bastard', I figured I should return the favor." Sasuke explained. "Dead last fits. Don't you have the lowest grades in the class?"

Naruto snorted.

"_Everyone_ knows that, bastard."

Sasuke didn't respond. There was a tension in the room, and if I allowed it to have gone on any longer, I was sure that someone else would have intervened.

"Okay, you two," I said with as much assertion as a mouse. "Teacher might be here any moment."

Naruto didn't budge. He continued to just glare at the unimpressed Sasuke.

"You should repeat yourself," Sasuke said. "Maybe then the dead last will respond."

"Why you…!"

Naruto tackled him. There were some screams as a desk or two fell to the floor in the scuffle. Naruto had Sasuke pinned to the floor for a moment. But in a swing, Naruto came down flattened. The two struggled with each other. In a matter of seconds, they had managed to roll all over the floor, one falling onto the other with fist held at their shoulders.

Unsure of what to do in the frenzy, when the boys rolled closer to me, I panicked and screamed. I hit one on the head. Hard.

The teacher arrived soon after and demanded to know what had happened. I lied and said the one of the boys had tripped and fallen over the other, I wasn't questioned.

As class rep, I followed both of them to the nurse and waited with them while the nurse was out on her lunch break. They sat on separate beds across from each other. Sasuke sat slouching like he always did, eyes on the floor. Naruto was nursing his head with an icepack.

"Eh, you hit hard Sakura-chan," Naruto whined at me.

"You gave me no other choice, I wasn't even given time to see who I was hitting." I defended myself.

I looked through the top cabinets, I'd been to the nurse's office enough with other students to know where the gauze and pain pills were.

"You could have at least timed it better," Naruto continued to complain. "That way you would have hit him instead of me."

A scoff was the only reaction Sasuke offered. I walked over with a few bandages in my hand. I pulled over a chair and sat between the two, facing only slightly more towards Sasuke. I was hesitant. It was weird and completely unlike the usual me. Lying so suddenly to the teacher without another thought. It wasn't like me, and I was okay with it.

"Here…" I offered the bandages.

Despite the mess the two had made in the classroom, Sasuke managed to come out looking like he only just gotten out of bed. His hair was a mess and his shirt was untucked. I didn't know if he had maybe gotten a bruise somewhere or a cut, but I wasn't going to ask.

"Sakura-chan, my head hurts." Naruto moaned.

"What did you expect me to do?" I felt defensive. "I could have gotten the teacher and told them about how _you_ started a fight."

"Me?" Naruto acted surprised. "He provoked me!"

Sasuke turned his head only slightly.

"Hush," I scolded. "You provoked him first. Just be glad that I didn't say anything."

"If he hadn't called me a d_ead last_…"

"You called him a bastard first." I reminded him.

Naruto's lips turned into a downward pout.

"Now you're taking his side," Naruto groaned. "Sakura-chan, don't let his good looks fool you."

I glared at Naruto.

"You seem better now, why don't you go back to class." I told him.

"Sakura-chan…!"

"If you have a mind to complain so much…"

He only pouted, again, and got up to leave. All to my surprise, I never thought he would actually listen to me. But he did and it left me alone in a room with Sasuke. It left me in a silence where the sound of my heart was louder than the instant ticking of the clock on the wall.

"I'm sorry about Naruto." I finally found myself saying.

Sasuke didn't react. He just continued to stare at the floor. I swallowed, hoping it would take down my feeling of intimidation.

"But, you shouldn't let this affect your view on him." I said. "He just doesn't always think things through. He's really emotional and loud mouthed."

Sasuke didn't look like he was listening at all.

"He isn't the brightest in the world," I continued. "But don't hold any of it against him. At heart he isn't too bad."

His sullen face didn't even twitch. If he was thinking about my words, he didn't show it. In fact, it looked like he could have cared less about what I thought. There was a feeling of distance that he seemed to keep with everyone, but he didn't say anything as I found myself staring. Thinking about it in that moment, now that Naruto had mentioned it, he wasn't bad looking. Far from it, actually. Strong jawed, sharp lined in his nose and a good profile. My face was growing hotter.

"I can go back now," he said suddenly.

I was taken out of my momentary thoughts and stood, flustered.

"Oh, of course." I said, trying to hold in a blush.

He didn't say anything more and we just left the nurse's office, he was sure to walk at least a pace ahead.

No longer than the next day, when Sasuke came into the room, he took his seat as usual. Naruto, beside him grunted. It didn't seem like the two would get along, neither bothered to acknowledge that the other was there. Even if I had told Naruto that morning that he shouldn't pick a fight with him, I didn't think it would have been to that extent. I looked onto them in worry, hoping that the silence wasn't a precedent to another brawl.

"I'm sorry…"

The words surprised both of us. Sasuke had his head resting on the back of his hands, looking aloof as usual. But the voice was unmistakably his.

"What…?" Naruto sat straight in his chair.

Sasuke took a glance over to Naruto and sighed. He swung himself so that he could face him.

"I said I'm sorry." Sasuke said with a straight face. Eyes still void of any clear emotion. "I'm apologizing."

Naruto still stared in disbelief. I couldn't quite comprehend it either. Sasuke just groaned, again.

"I'm apologizing for calling you 'dead last' yesterday." He said. Then he just went back to sitting silently. Not staring in any direction in particular.

"Oh…" Naruto looked confused. "I'm… I guess I'm sorry, too. For calling you a 'bastard'… I'm sorry."

Sasuke didn't move, nor act as if he acknowledged Naruto's apology.

"You know," Naruto continued, "I don't actually care that you called me 'dead last'. I mean, I've been called worse. It didn't really bother me."

Sasuke's head turned slightly. And he did something that none of us had really seen, he smiled. He made a scoff and smiled a little. It was only momentary, and it was gone in a blink. I questioned if it had been there, but Naruto saw it, and Naruto smiled back.

When the teacher came in, we were forced to take our normal positions. But I couldn't focus on the lesson at all. All I could think about was how confused about the entire situation I was. I was glad the two could reconcile. I was happy that another fight didn't break out. But I couldn't figure out exactly why Sasuke apologized, or why Naruto had so easily turned the other cheek. Just that morning, Naruto had been going on and on about how I was taking the side of the better looking guy and ignoring our "long friendship". I couldn't understand it at all. I couldn't understand and it was a first.

From then on, Naruto and Sasuke seemed to have taken to each other well. It used to be just Sasuke running on the track alone, or Sasuke working on his own in the back. Naruto was sure to bring Sasuke into activities in gym and always offered to partner with him for group works. And Sasuke, while painfully still aloof, would naturally accept every offer. Even in our morning walks to school, Naruto would sometimes bring up Sasuke. It didn't take long for the two to seem almost inseparable. And while Sasuke was supposed to have been my duty as class rep, Sasuke seemed to rely more on Naruto than anyone else.

I could always hear as Naruto passed a paper onto Sasuke's desk or how Sasuke would whisper for Naruto to focus back on his workbooks. Naruto was like Sasuke's best friend. I was just the girl that sat in front of him.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto had said to me one morning. "You want to come over to Sasuke's house with me after school?"

I hadn't realized the two were that close.

"Uchiha-san invited you to his house?" I asked.

"Well, no..."

"Stupid…" I chastised. "You can't just invite yourself over to someone's house."

"His mom invited me though," Naruto said. "She told me I could come over anytime I wanted to."

I crossed my arms.

"Then it's just you." I told him. "I haven't even seen Uchiha-san's mother, much less met her. And you just want to invite me over to his house? I don't think so."

"Oh, c'mon Sakura-chan. Sasuke's mom is really nice and pretty." Naruto went on. "And she makes pretty good food, too. C'mon, it'll be fun."

I gave him a skeptical look.

"If I just ask Sasuke at school, I'm sure he'll say yes!"

I didn't say anything further. Secretly, I hoped he really would. But in my mind I was sure it wouldn't happen.

But stepping into the Uchiha house felt so natural, so normal. Despite all the feelings of apprehension and awkwardly fallowing the boys as they led the way to Sasuke's house, the warmth inside was a dire contrast to the cold of the early winter.

"I'm home." Sasuke called into the empty hall. "You two can leave your jackets on the hanger there."

Naruto and I took off our winter coats and hung them like Sasuke said. Sasuke pulled out a few extra slippers from the closet by the door and handed them to us. From a doorway down the main hall, out came a small, waddling old woman. She held her hands together in front of her stomach and wore a warm smile of welcome.

"This is my grandmother." Sasuke said coolly. "Obaa-san, this is Naruto and…"

Sasuke looked at me, eyes straining. He didn't know what to call me. He had never said my name before. We never talked. I came because Naruto asked me to, and I took it selfishly.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," I said and bowed. "I'm a classmate."

"Oh?" Sasuke's grandmother's brow raised. "Sakura… what a pretty name for a pretty girl."

I thanked her and put on the slippers Sasuke had given us. Sasuke showed us the basics of the house, where the bathroom was and the living room. They had a large television in there. Sasuke's grandfather was situated in front of it, watching the news. He turned to greet us, though not as warmly as his wife. And as we passed by the kitchen, Sauske's mother was in there washed some rice in the sink. She really did look beautiful, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Sasuke certainly looked like his mother. We caught her when she was moving the cleaned rice over the stove and she saw us standing at the kitchen entrance.

"Oh, hello there." She said to us sweetly. "Sorry, dinner isn't ready yet. Why don't you kids play upstairs, I'll call you down when things are ready."

"Okay."

Sasuke led us through the kitchen and back into the hallway. She watched us as we left before going back to cooking. Up the stairs, there was another hall. Sasuke led us to a room at the end of the hall. There were two beds, one on either side. The tatami mats between them were bare of any dust or dirt. The beds were neat and orderly, books fit nicely in shelves with desks on the foot of both beds.

"So you share a room with your brother?" Naruto asked, taking the first step in. "Where is he, actually?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"Probably studying at the school library." He said. "He's taking university entrance exams in a week so…"

"Really?"

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "He wants to get a scholarship somewhere so he's been staying late on Fridays and going to the library on weekends."

"Boring…" Naruto whined.

I wanted to hush him for being so carelessly insensitive, but Sasuke didn't seem to take the comment to heart.

"So, what's there to do in your room?" Naruto asked, springing up to look around the orderly room.

"Nothing." Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

"Nothing…?" Naruto looked at him quizzically. "What do you do for fun?"

"I read."

I felt like a spectator again. It just didn't feel like I was supposed to be there. While Sasuke and Naruto were in the room, walking about and talking to each other, I just stood at the door and watched them.

"Boring! We came to your house and there isn't anything to do." Naruto complained.

"You're the ones who invited yourselves." Sasuke countered.

He had a point.

"Well don't you have any video games?" Naruto asked. "Any manga?"

"You and your video games." I found an opening to interject. "If you spent half the amount of time that you do playing video games on actually studying, you wouldn't be on the bottom of the class list."

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto whined. "You're taking his side again."

I rolled my eyes.

"Uchiha-san has nothing-…"

"Sasuke."

I stopped. Sasuke was sitting on his bed, looking at the floor again.

"I'd rather you just call me Sasuke." He said sullenly. "Or Sasuke-san if you feel uncomfortable. Just not Uchiha…"

I didn't know how to respond or react. My face felt flushed again. My heart was pounding and my fingers were clammy against my school skirt. There was a moment of silence, Naruto just seemed confused by the situation.

"Sasuke, you really need to stop confusing young girls." A voice behind me spoke.

Long black hair, black eyes, soft features. He was Sasuke's brother.

"Aniki," Sasuke said in surprise. "You're back."

"It would seem I am."

I stepped out of the way and he walked past me. Sasuke's brother definitely felt different than Sasuke did. While Sasuke often trudged while he walked, his brother strode and had a smooth hop in his step. Maybe it was just age, but Sasuke's boy-ness only seemed more apparent when in contrast to his brother.

"Mom says that dinner is almost ready, you should go clean up."

Sasuke's brother walked over to his desk and neatly put his bag into the space between his desk and bed. Grabbing a book from the shelf, he proceeded to climb onto his bed and begin reading as though none of us were really there. Aloofness must have been a common trait in the Uchiha family.

Sasuke motioned for the two of us to follow him down the stairs. I could already smell the cooked rice and dried fish. We took turns using the washroom and all headed to dining table together. Naruto and Sasuke obviously took a seat next to each other. I stayed back by the door till everyone was seated. There was only one empty chair next to Sasuke and his brother, I assumed it was for Sasuke's father. But his grandmother tugged at my sleeve and motioned for me to take it. I sat down with hesitance and just looked at my rice bowl. Even after we thanked for the meal, I just stared and watched as everyone began eating. All of a sudden, I didn't feel comfortable or welcomed anymore. Even if no one said anything, I was sure at least a few were wonder exactly what I was doing there, the awkward girl in the corner of the table.

I only reached out to take food that everyone else had eaten first, and I ate the rice slowly. While Naruto seemed to make himself right at home, asking for another bowl of rice, I could barely stomach half. I didn't engage in any conversation either. Most of the questions were very general like how school was or if we'd noticed anything interesting on the way over. Sasuke gave very monosyllabic answers while Naruto elaborated every detail he could remember, exaggerating things here and there for effect.

"Sakura-chan," Sasuke's mother addressed me. "You've hardly said anything, are you feeling okay?"

She seemed genuinely concerned and it did nothing to sedate my guilt.

"Me…?" I said as if surprised. "No, I'm feeling fine. I just don't have much to say."

"Really?" Sasuke's mother said. "Nothing interesting or new you learned?"

I didn't know how to respond. At home, my mother would ask the same things, and I would tell her the same things. We never really said anything meaningful about our days to each other and my father would rather just sit and listen to us talk. I had dealt with parents before, countless times. I always knew the right words to say to which parent because they were always parents of classmates who came for the cultural festivals or would come for a bowl of ramen in my father's shop. I never had to deal with them for long, and the questions were always general to the year rather than a specific day. They were parents who were only superficially interested in how I, the "smart little Sakura", was doing. So I always just played my part, and gave the appropriate and expected answers. But truth be told, this was the first time I'd talked to a parent inside their own home. The sad thing was, this was the first time I had ever been "invited" into someone else's home. This fact alone is what really hurt.

"Mom," Sasuke spoke up. "Don't push it."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sasuke's mother apologized. "You're right."

"It's fine really," I tried to assure her. But while I smiled, something that had twisted in me relaxed. I took a momentary glance back at Sasuke who had gone back to eating. Naruto was talking again. I didn't know why, but of him coming in like that made my breath and heart stop for just a moment. Slowly, I went back to eating too.

The meal continued with Naruto being the prime entertainer. He really just never stopped talking, even with a mouth full of rice, he just went on to tell his stories. When everything was finished, I offered to help wash the dishes, but Sasuke's mother didn't let me.

"You and Naruto should head home now, even if it's a Friday." She told me. "Don't worry. Itachi, why don't you walk Naruto and Sakura-chan back to their homes?"

Sasuke's brother stood from the table and nodded.

"Sasuke," he called, "grab your coat and come with me."

Sasuke only sighed in annoyance but went up to grab his coat without a word.

"Don't worry, he's always like that." Sasuke's brother said. I wasn't sure if it was to me, but I assumed he was just saying it. Because if it was, I wouldn't have known how to respond.

The sun had already gone and all was left was dark and cold. I could feel the hairs on my arms raise, even through the thick down jacket. Naruto seemed impervious to the cold and the two brothers walking behind us just did a good job of not showing it.

"Wow, your mom cooks really good food Sasuke." Naruto complimented. "I wish Old Man Kakashi could cook like that. But nope, he just reads his stupid porn all day."

"Hush," I scolded. "Be grateful to Hatake-san, he's your guardian."

"I am grateful Sakura-chan, I'm just saying that I wish he could cook better." Naruto sighed. "I mean, I don't mind eating instant ramen every night but good food is good food."

I just rolled my eyes.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto prodded my arm.

"What Naruto?"

"Why don't you invite us over to your dad's shop next week or something? You're dad's an awesome cook."

"I don't…" I looked at him skeptically.

I didn't just invite people to my dad's shop. It just wasn't what I did. People came, and I would sometimes see a classmate or two. But I never asked for friends to come over.

"C'mon," Naruto begged. "Wouldn't you want some first class ramen Sasuke?"

I turned back. In the dark, it was hard to make out anyone's faces. But something in me hoped for a moment that I could have seen what his expression was like.

"I don't really care either way."

And it stung. I didn't know why I cared so much. At least not then.

"I can see what I can do…" I said. While that night hadn't been my ideal, I liked being in with Sasuke. I liked being in his presence. For just a moment, I wanted him to notice me just as much as I noticed him. If he could acknowledge me like he did with Naruto… I hated feeling like a ghost in the room. Just watching and never engaging. I didn't like feeling so small and mouse like, I didn't like being just the "smart little Sakura" everyone thought I was. And here was a boy who knew nothing of me and cared even less for me, if I was bad or good. I just wanted him to see the person I could be.

Naruto made a hop.

"Great, so next Friday, yes?"

"I'll see what I can do."

And I made a promise, and I kept a promise. The next Friday, I had Sasuke and Naruto both sitting across from me as my dad served us ramen. It felt weird being a customer at my own family's shop. But Naruto didn't take a moment longer to just stuff his face into his bowl. Sasuke looked uncaring and unimpressed. And all through dinner, with only minimal interruptions from my parents, I lacked any part of the conversation between Sasuke and Naruto.

The two seemed to click so well, and there was something burning in the pit of my stomach. I felt out casted? Sure. But I could deal with that. I didn't mind being an outsider usually, in fact I usually made an effort to not get too involved with people. But while I watched the two talk to each other and watched as they seemed to have some kind of understanding of one another… I felt jealous.

Admitting it to myself, I knew that it was an ugly feeling. I tried to rationalize that it was only natural for people to feel like that. When they were being pulled along like a third wheel, it was only normal to feel at least a little unsettled. But why did I feel so jealous? Why did I feel jealous of Naruto? _Naruto?_

"Your dad really is a great cook Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

I bit my lip. In mind I was cursing him and all he did was compliment me. I shook my head and tried to get over myself.

"Thanks Naruto," I said. Taking a sip from my soup, I glanced up to Sasuke who just continued to eat in silence till Naruto started talking to him again.

My hands fisted over my chopsticks. Watching them chatter. I was usually the outsider, but I didn't want to be. Not with him. I didn't want to just watch as he interacted with the people around me. I didn't _just _want to be the person that watched him. Because he had been my duty and I didn't realize what that meant then. I should have cared about him more, and I didn't. And I didn't like that I didn't. I cared for him then, I could feel it in the burn in my stomach and the flush in my face. The me that was always so calculating was just sitting there acting like there was no solution. And I realized that Sasuke may be like me, just watching on the inside. If he wouldn't talk to me, I just had to talk to him. People who don't make the first move, if you want to understand, you need to be the one to take the first step forward. I realized.

I waited for Naruto to take a moment of pause between stories before I spoke.

"So Sasuke-kun," I started, "Where did you live before Eniwa?"

Sasuke looked up at me. In his eyes, I saw something flash. Like he had only just realized I was there.

"Tokyo." He finally said.

"Wow! What district?"

My mother was from Tokyo, and I had heard of how different it was than Eniwa. Large buildings, bustling people, and bright street lights.

"Bunkyo." Sasuke was still sticking to monosyllabic responses.

"I see…" I took another sip from my bowl, thinking of other things to keep the conversation going. Naruto hadn't interjected yet. "Does your mom work?"

"No."

"Oh," I was taken aback by the forcefulness of the answer.

"Eh, really?" Naruto butted in. His hand slapped the back of Sasuke's chair. "No wonder I always see her around town. Then what does your dad do?"

I noticed Sasuke's hands stiffen around his spoon. His eyes shifted and lips tightened. Something in the way he let his posture straighten just a bit told me he didn't expect to be asked that. His jaw looked as though it locked, he didn't say a word. Had we said something wrong? His silence was only momentary as he moved around in his chair and continued to eat.

"It doesn't matter."

He said it so finitely, neither of us wanted to question further. It was only later, from his mother, did I hear that they had moved from Tokyo to Eniwa to live with his grandparents. His father had died of a heart attack and now her family was their only form of support. Sasuke hadn't taken to the move well, she'd told me. Sasuke never really was one to voice him complaints, but she said he usually showed signs of defiance. She told me he had just passively accepted moving away, she said Sasuke hadn't seemed the least bit surprised with the news. She said he just seemed defeated.

Things he'd never say and things he would never tell us. He wasn't inherently cold hearted. And I didn't know how to reach him. This boy that I could not understand, I wanted to know down at the very core. I wanted to understand him. I wanted to find the keys into the depths of the chest he kept hidden away. I wanted to know what went on behind the closed doors of his mind. I wanted him to open them for me. But I don't think he would ever let them open. I didn't think he knew how.

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_I'm back. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and wished me luck on exams. They have ended, now just to wait. I felt good about them so we'll see. _

_Sorry that this chapter had no Hinata in it, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways!_

_Please leave a review! _


	6. 2-1: Daylight

_**NOTICE: **Plot resumes at present timeline._

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**2.1: Daylight **

She hadn't fully memorized her schedule yet, or the campus layout. The girls had all agreed to ride the train in together but immediately had to go their separate ways. Different majors, different departments, Temari needed to walk a little further to the graduate classes were held. Hinata found herself more or less lost. Wandering off the main campus road and heading into a direction that she didn't quite know but assumed to have been correct. Only after following a few people for a while did she realize that they were heading off campus.

Finding her way back to her department was difficult enough, but then once she'd found the building she was looking for, the winding and endless halls all looked the same on the inside. Like a labyrinth, one corner seemed to only turn down into another corridor she did not want to go down.

"Are you lost?"

A voice from behind startled her. Turning in shock, a boy stood there.

"Oh," she said sheepishly, "It seems I am."

The boy smiled, riding up on scared cheeks.

"Well, that's good." He seemed to say so nonchalantly.

"Excuse me?" She said bewildered.

"Oh, no I wasn't…" He stumbled on his words, realizing the offence someone could take with them. He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed and tried to think of a way to rephrase. "I wasn't implying… I didn't mean to sound like I was happy that you're lost. I… I wasn't suggesting that it was a good thing you have a bad sense of direction – not that you have a bad sense of direction."

Hinata continued to look a little startled. This time not from surprise but just from shock. His mumblings weren't making the situation better. The boy forcefully stuffed his hands in his pockets, frustrated. Obviously he wasn't getting his point across.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba, second year. I'm supposed to take this English course that I couldn't get into last semester and so this is the first time that I'm in the language building and these halls are so confusing." He explained in one lasting breath. "It felt kind of embarrassing for me, a second year, to not even know where my classes are. So when I saw you kind of wandering aimlessly, it made me feel a bit relieved… not that I've been following you long it's just-…"

"What English course are you taking?" Hinata suddenly asked.

"What?"

She smiled, feeling almost a bit motherly though he was her senior.

"What English course are you taking?" she repeated. "I'm also looking for an English course. Maybe we're looking for the same one."

Kiba flashed a toothy grin.

"I was supposed to look for an English Intermediate." He said.

"Me too," she told him. Looking around, she pulled out her phone. "I don't think it's on this floor. We have a few minutes before the actual class starts."

"Well, then let's try another floor down?" He suggested.

"I've already tried downstairs." Hinata said. Then a little sheepishly, "I've tried the whole building to be honest."

Kiba gave her a look of confidence and another toothy smile.

"I have a feeling," he tried to assure her, "trust me."

Hinata looked a little skeptical but followed him anyways as he led her down a few halls to the stairs. She had been warned before she'd left to watch out for any strange boys who wanted to lead her astray. Or at least who were being too kind to her. Her father had especially told her not to follow any boy around an unfamiliar place, at least not alone. She kept that in mind as they walked out onto the floor below and her hand grazed along her pencil case.

Kiba continued to look down at a slip of paper with his schedule, checking the numbers on the doors. He was relatively tall, not much taller than usual Japanese man. Hair spiked and tanned skin, she'd seen many men like him in Tokyo.

"Hey," Kiba perked, "that door is open over there."

He pointed to a room at the end of the hall. There was only one open door and they watched as someone walked in. Hinata immediately went to look at the time, seeing that they would barely make it. Assuming that it really was the room they were looking for. Hinata and Kiba made a dash for it.

They both held onto their bags, Hinata barely managed to keep it on her shoulder. The two rushed into the room and found that there were several rows of tables, most seats being filled. The professor was at the head of the room straightening his papers. A foreigner who looked as though he didn't particularly want to be there – that or he hadn't had a good night's sleep.

Kiba looked back to the number on the door, and looked down to his paper. Hinata saw as his shoulders seemed to relax. He turned back to her and gave a thumbs up along with a toothy smile. Hinata smiled back and went to take an open seat as the teacher got up to write something on the board. Kiba slid in next to her though there were other unoccupied chairs. She didn't say anything and just pulled out a notebook and her pencil case. Silver, metallic, it made a _clunk _when set on the table.

"That thing could be used as a weapon," Kiba leaned over and whispered.

Hinata just gently shushed him and smiled. He didn't really know how right he was.

The lecture was nothing more than introductory, passing out of the syllabus, going over grading, and ultimately listening to the professor as he talked about how his spring holidays went. Hinata, while the typical good student, couldn't help but feel a little restless. Maybe it had been because she'd spent so much energy trying to get there she had hoped that the effort could have been worth it. Especially since she didn't have any more classes after.

It had been said that college was different than high school. She had heard that it would be strikingly different that she may feel overwhelmed. She had heard that there would be no parental or family support, the only person to push you would be you. There would be more freedom, but less support financially and more from friends. Honestly, that was what she had that was what she had wanted. She wanted to feel overwhelmed and like all she had to rely on was herself. Because she had also heard that she never really was. But it felt the same as being in high school, only she was living with complete strangers now. Which, could be argued was a similar experience.

"You looked really bored."

Hinata had been staring out the window when the lecture ended. She and Kiba ended up being the last ones in the room. Even the professor had left before them.

"Oh." She looked around, a little bewildered.

Kiba laughed and started packing up his own things, stuffing them into a little compact pack.

"Are you okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned. "Not sleep well last night?"

"I…" she hesitated. "I guess not really."

Oddly enough, she hadn't noticed how long it took her to actually doze off. She'd gone back to bed with a full head of wet hair, not realizing she hadn't dried it. Laying in her bed, her mind felt numb. There was something weird about the hearing that voice from across the line. Even though there was nothing extra ordinary or special about what they had said to each other on the phone, something about it made her think too much. But then it made her stop all though as well. She had just lay in bed and stared into the dimness of her room, only the light coming from the moon between the blinds. And somewhere between her mindless thoughts and opening her eyes to her alarm she had fallen asleep.

"Well," Kiba said. He slung his bag over his back. "Do you have any classes anytime soon?"

Hinata had just started packing her own things. She thought that he would have left her to do it alone. But he stayed, and she didn't know whether or not to feel uneasy or grateful.

"This was my last class for today." She told him.

Up till then he had been leaning against the table. Nonchalant. Now, he was upright with puppy excitement.

"Then how about I treat you to a coffee," he offered.

She looked up to him. He panicked.

"I mean… to help you wake up." He clarified. "Wow… um… I'm offering to get you coffee and I don't even know your name. Sorry if it sounds so forward."

He rubbed his hands together before rubbing the back of his neck. His acts of nervousness were a little endearing.

"You know what?" He said a little frustrated. "Forget I said anything. You're probably really tired and just want to get back to your dorm. Or home if you live near here. I'm just sometimes get ahead of myself. Really, sorry I-…"

"Hyuuga Hinata."

Kiba paused.

"Thank you for helping me today Inuzuka-senpai," she said, "I'm Hyuuga Hinata, first year economics major."

There was a silence. Hinata stood and shrugged her bag onto her shoulder. She gave him a small smile.

"R-right." He stuttered. "Inuzuka Kiba, second year forensics major."

The two awkwardly stood for a moment waiting for either to make the first step out of the classroom. Kiba motioned for her to. Nodding, Hinata started walking.

"Forensics major?" she repeated.

"That's right. Discovering shi-… I mean stuff," he said. "That's my thing."

Hinata nodded.

"No wonder you could find this class."

He flushed at the compliment and she couldn't help but find how charming his bashfulness was.

* * *

She had been reading for an hour by the time the knock on her door came. Hinata quickly put away the book and opened the door. Sakura stood with a head of wet hair.

"Temari-chan is back with dinner," Sakura said.

"Okay."

Hinata grabbed a sweater from her chair and walked out with Sakura. She grabbed a few cups from the cupboard and placed them down on the island. Temari and Ino were already setting out bowls of rice for everyone. Sakura grabbed a handful of chopsticks from a drawer and set herself down in front of a bowl.

"So," Temari started, "how were everyone's first days?"

She and the other two girls took their own places around the island. A bowl of stewed tofu and vegetables were in the center of them.

"Really easy," Ino sighed. "I know it's only the first day and everything, but I honestly thought it would be at least a _little _challenging."

"You say that now, but watch out," Temari warned, "keep that mindset and before you know it it'll be three years later and your GPA isn't what you hoped it would be."

"I know, I know." Ino rolled her eyes. "I was just saying that today wasn't as hard as I thought."

"And I'm just saying that you shouldn't get too comfortable." Temari stressed. The two shared a momentary glance, Temari raised a brow before letting out a sigh. "Anyways, don't let the food get cold. I traveled on the crowded train to get this to you girls."

Ino gave a joking solute. The others thanked for the food before they began to serve themselves. It steamed and felt nice in their mouths. Especially with the early spring winds, while it was no longer snowing there was still a chill.

"What about you two?" Temari questioned once more. "How did you think of your first day as a university student?"

Both Hinata and Sakura had their mouths full when asked the question. It was silent. The girls had only know each other for a couple of days and while they had all decided that no one outright disliked each other as of yet, moments with all of them together were still slightly uncomfortable. In a hurried rush to not keep anyone in an awkward silence for too long, Hinata ended up choking on a grain of rice.

It surprised everyone. Ino quickly reached over and patted her back. Sakura rushed to offer her a glass of water and Temari insistently asked if she was all right. Hinata placed a hand over her mouth as the coughing subsided.

"I'm… fine…" she managed. "I'm okay. Thank you."

She cleared her throat.

"Anyways," Hinata tried to continue, a pained expression played on her face. "I agree with Ino-san, today was much easier than I had imagined."

"You too," Temari pointed. "I trust you have a better screwed head than Ino-…"

"Hey." Ino protested.

Temari did a sideways glance and snorted.

"…but don't let your academics slip under you." She finished.

Hinata nodded.

"Don't worry Temari-san." Hinata gave a smile in attempt to assure Temari that she surely wouldn't let her grades suffer due to laziness. "But I did meet someone, he treated me to coffee today."

"What? First day of classes and already guys are buying you coffee?" Ino set down her chopsticks. She leaned forward so that she was pressed against the island, hair almost falling into her bowl. "Was he cute?"

Hinata hadn't really expected that reaction but continued to eat as though she had. Eyes cast down, she couldn't really place what he looked like. Brown hair, almond eyes, toothy smile. Nothing stood out from any of the other faces that she'd seen that day, but if faced to identify him in her class, she immediately thought of a face just by her seat. He was plain, average.

"I suppose?" was her unsure response.

"This place is actually filled with really attractive guys." Ino said. "But I won't let them get in the way of my studies."

The last part was added in, Ino feeling the stare from Temari. Sakura fidgeted in her seat and set her bowl down to scoop more tofu into it.

"Well my day actually felt a little challenging, I got lost several times." Sakura said. "The content wasn't hard but university definitely has a different feel than high school, don't you think pig?"

Ino had one leg up on her chair, bent over and stuffing her face full of rice. At first she didn't register that "pig" was referring to her. But when she did, she paused and glanced up at Sakura. Temari laughed at the sight, causing Ino to glare at her, too.

"Okay then, forehead." Ino challenged. "Maybe that just makes you a little stupider that the rest of us?"

Sakura frowned.

"I said it was only hard because I kept getting lost."

Ino huffed. Sakura rolled her eyes but continued like she hadn't stopped talking.

"I met someone, too." Sakura said almost proudly. "And I can for sure tell you that he is more than just cute."

Ino perked up at the news.

"Oh really, forehead?" She said. "Where'd you meet him?"

Sakura laughed and ignored the nickname.

"Well, I didn't exactly _meet_ him." She clarified.

"What do you mean you didn't _meet _him?" Temari imitated Sakura's use of inflection. She smirked. "What did you do? See him and just follow him around? Sounds kind of stalker-ish."

The girls laughed.

"Nothing like that. We actually talked, I'll have you know," Sakura insisted. "No, I just mean that this isn't my first time meeting him. We went to the same high school."

Hinata almost dropped her chopsticks. A chill went down her back, and it wasn't from the cold. She shivered. Temari noticed and asked if she was okay. Hinata just assured her that she was fine.

"Oh," Ino said. "Is he a science major of any sort?"

"Chemistry." Sakura said. "And he's really good at it."

Ino chuckled.

"Mind introducing me?"

"Not in the way you're thinking." Sakura commented. "But as friends sure."

"You sly little…" Ino had a small, playful whine in her voice. Their exchange, while a little less than friendly, definitely was what seemed to be normal for the two. Despite the name calling and oddly offensive words, the two always managed to just smile and laugh and each other and themselves. Hinata – while usually tolerant of their banter – all of a sudden didn't feel like she wanted to hear much else.

She stood. Temari, Sakura, and Ino all looked up to her. She had a blank expression and immediately they all felt the mood dampen a little. A light green dimmed to a somber blue.

"Sorry," Hinata apologized. She could have very well left without one, but she felt it necessary to leave with one. "I'm done."

"Really?" Temari asked. "Is that all you're going to eat? You didn't have much tofu."

Hinata gave a wary smile.

"I had a sandwich at the coffee shop," she lied, "it must have been heavier than I thought."

"Oh, I see."

Without another word of complaint, Hinata dropped her bowl into the sink and made her way back to her room. Her exit had left everyone feeling cold, but the other girls tried to continue eating as though nothing happened.

Hinata sat down at her desk, her book cover staring back at her. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her hands and chin on top of them. This kind of person that she was acting like, Hinata didn't like it. There was a pit in her stomach, but it wasn't hunger. It was deep and dark, like it was endless. And it wiggled and slithered, making its way up, just grazing the bottoms of her heart. She continued to sit there, eyes burning holes into the shut pages. It wasn't clear to her that she had just sat like that for a while, not moving. Her mind fuzzed, blanked. She had fallen asleep and she didn't even know it.

Her phone buzzed.

The wood all vibrated and woke her. She jolted up, head alert.

It was a text from her sister.

_How was your first day?_

She didn't feel like answering back, but she knew Hanabi would be waiting patiently by her phone till she did. Hinata sighed and got up from her chair. Grabbing her pajamas, she started typing a quick response that was short enough to not take much physical effort, but long enough so that Hanabi wouldn't feel the need to question further.

She walked out with everything in hand, intending to take a bath. The island had already been cleaned of any mess and the common room was empty, save for a spot of pink sitting on one of the couches. Sakura was on her phone and though Hinata had only just seen a glance, there was no doubt in her mind who was on the other end.

_All right. Goodnight._

* * *

"To be honest, I thought you wouldn't come."

Hinata turned and saw Kiba. He looked tired, a bead of sweat hanging to the cliff of his chin. He panted like a dog, had he run?

"I offered to buy you a coffee this time," Hinata said, "why wouldn't I come?"

"Oh, right." Kiba breathed.

For his sake, she pretended like she didn't see the blush that crept up his face. Maybe it was only because he had so obviously ran to the coffee shop. And though the two had agreed that she would definitely pay this time, she wasn't sure why he decided to pull out his own wallet before she could. Even as she insisted that a cup wasn't trouble for her, he continued to push the paper towards the cashier.

It was warmer that day than it had been in a while. Even if it was still morning. Hinata felt like she may have needed to take her sweater and scarf off somewhere between the coffee shop and the language building. But this time, after entering, there were no questions as to where the class was. By the time they reached to room, there was still a good ten minutes before anything would start.

She took the same seat that she had the day before. Kiba took the seat just beside her, just like he had the day before. Slowly, the seats around them started to fill. Hinata didn't say anything more and just took out her pencil case, a_ clunk_ seemed to echo.

"I really would hate to be hit with that." Kiba joked. "Where'd you get that?"

Hinata looked to him, then back at her pencil case.

"Tokyo tower." She said fondly. "There used to be a picture of it on one of these sides. But it's rubbed off over the years."

Without asking, Kiba picked up the case and looked at both sides. The metal gave distorted and fuzzed reflections. But if he looked closely enough, faint outlines of what could have been something were marked on one side. He sniffed it.

Hinata, while at first surprised, let a smile slip and she giggled.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"How old is this?" Kiba ignored her question and simply asked his own.

"Old…I suppose." Hinata thought for a moment. "Ten years I think."

Just then, the professor came into the classroom and the room fell deadly silent. The only thing that could be heard for the first moments of class was the ticking of the clock. The professor straightened out some papers, then stood, and greeted the class in English. He didn't look any better than the day before, he still had bags and a tired expression.

After the class greeted him back, he began writing his lecture on the board. Letters and words that contorted in different shapes and forms than Japanese were being written. Hinata immediately took out her binder and Kiba handed her pencil case back. She started scribbling something down on the paper, exactly as it was being written on the board. And once the professor had finished writing what needed to be written, he started explaining, using the same dreary and monotonous voice that he had used the day before.

Finally, at some point in the lesson, the professor gave instructions for a self-work period with translating passages he'd written on the board. Hinata, while only having just been paying enough attention to have barely understood the procedure given, began working on her own. It was habit. Kiba, only watched for a little. Hesitant, he didn't bother her. Instead, he just tried to work through the passage they'd be given on his own. Around them, there were little whispers as others started to ask for help here and there in Japanese. The teacher didn't seem to care either way. He just sat and looked down at some papers on his desk.

"Kind of hard isn't it?" He found himself asking.

Hinata, only half listening to what was going on around her, stopped writing.

"I don't…" she started. Stopped. Realized she wasn't actually paying any attention. Looked back at Kiba. "What?"

Kiba, a little distraught, just smiled.

"I was just saying that it's a little difficult." He rephrased.

"Oh." She nodded then went back to her work. While her listening comprehension may not be the strongest, if she is given a passage, she definitely wrote and could read much better than anything else. Which is why she excelled in English in the classroom, but not much else.

Half-way through the second passage, she finally registered exactly the words that Kiba had been saying to her. Realizing what had happened, she took a glance to his paper and found he hadn't written anything past the first sentence of the first passage. Setting down her pen, she let out a small, breathy sigh and shifted in her seat so that she was facing more towards the boy next to her.

"What parts don't you understand?" She asked him, expertly showing no signs of annoyance in her face.

Kiba looked up from his paper and just flashed her a toothy smile.

"I'm not too sure how or where to put the verbs." He admitted shamelessly. "They always seem to go where ever they want."

Sucking in a breath and holding, she nodded and started explaining. She leaned forward and slowly whispered the next sentence in the passage. It was rhythmic and at a measured pace, the beginnings and ends of each word bounced and hit like a metronome. Her expression, while naturally soft, held a caring and almost maternal look that carried into the tone of her voice. Kiba tried his hardest to concentrate on what was being described to him. He would eventually be caught staring.

Hinata stopped midsentence.

Someone had reached over to tap Kiba on the shoulder. He and Hinata turned to the table behind them, following the hand that had reached out. Something in her jumped and there was an intense pounding against her chest.

Black hair, scruffy bangs just barely sweeping by his eyes. Clean shaven and wearing a blue polo. Neither Hinata nor Kiba knew when or for how long this man had been sitting there. He looked bored, eyes narrowed and lips pressed in a thin line.

"Uh…" Kiba eyed him. "Yes? Can I help you?"

He didn't answer right away. He just sat there without moving. Then, slowly, his eyes began to glide to their right. Hinata and he lock eyes. She bit the inside of her lip and felt the teeth draw blood. She wanted to look away, and she thought it was only appropriate to look away. A feeling of tingles traveled from somewhere in the pit of her stomach and traveled up. She knew it was a blush, but she did her best to hold it back; trying her hardest to think of something else. The pounding in her chest was tormenting, a knock, knock against bone.

"I dropped my pen beneath your desk." He finally said.

It all seemed to clear. That deep and husky voice, it scraped against her eardrums. Without the static and echoed mumbles from crappy service it all felt less surreal and more tangible. Disregarding the fact that he was literally sitting less than a meter away, Hinata felt like – if she tried – she could reach out and touch something. He didn't break away from her eyes, and she just continued to stare wide eyed.

Kiba had bent down to reach for the pen. Hinata was thankful that he did before her face heated red. She looked away.

"Here." Kiba was curt.

He took the pen that was handed to him.

"Tomato."

Hinata's eyes shot open wider.

"W-what?" She looked up frantically, speaking louder than she would have liked. And as if he had expected it, black bitted eyes were there to meet her. He did not seem the least bit surprised.

"I said _do-u-mo_." He said slowly. Letting each syllable click off his tongue.

His face showed nothing, at least nothing that could be deduced from a single glance. But as he went back to work on the passages, she swore that she saw the corner of his mouth twitch up. Only one side, into a momentary – fleetingly clear – crooked smile. Obviously shaken, she turned back and started to work on her own once again. Reading furiously through the passages and writing everything in a hurried rush; anything to fill her mind up with any words but the ones that occurred in the real world.

And by the end of the self-work time, the professor began writing the correct translations on to the board. Hinata looked up and down again at her binder, circling mistakes in a bright red and correcting them in green. Too absorbed in her work, she didn't notice when the professor had dismissed the class. Kiba, with hesitance called her name once.

"Hyuuga-san?"

"Huh?" She lifted her head, like lifting it from a trance.

"It's time to go." He told her.

"Oh," was all she said.

Looking back down to her binder, she realized she could barely read any of her handwriting. It wasn't neat and inline like it usually was. Her lips pressed firmly together into a line, displeased.

"You go ahead," she told him. "I think I'll stay just a few more minutes to rewrite some things."

Kiba looked surprised.

"Are you sure?"

She gave him a sweet smile.

"Go ahead. I won't be here very long." Hinata assured him and without a second thought went back to her binder.

At first, he thought he would stay. But then, he thought better and reluctantly left. Hinata continued to scribble and erase and rewrite letter and words here and there. Eventually, it seemed like she was the only one left when she decided she was satisfied with her notes.

As she made moves to clean up, in the corner of her eye, she noticed that she wasn't completely alone.

He just sat there, pen in hand as he traced over each letter. Everything was thick in black ink, some letters had already torn through the page and onto the next. Soon, the sole sound that bounced off the walls were the faint scratches of needle to paper. His hands only moved side to side, robotically. And when they lifted, the sides were shaded like his steely eyes.

"It's not nice to just stare," he said. His voice felt strained.

Hinata blinked a couple of times.

"S-sorry." She inwardly cursed her stutter.

"No you're not." He said.

He placed the pen down, crossed his arms, and looked back up at her.

"Excuse me?"

"If you were, you'd stop doing it." He explained, sounding almost triumphant. "If you were really sorry you'd stop staring at me."

She remained silent.

He didn't say anything back. Awkward and a little clumsily, he started packing up his things too. Hinata, taking it as a sign stood up, bag in hand. But as she tried to will her feet to move, they didn't. She just stood there and watched as he packed up his things. When he peered up, she couldn't see what exactly his expression was before he turned away from her again.

"I knew you weren't so-…"

"It's nice to see you again, Sasuke-kun."

He paused.

"Sorry," she apologized for cutting him off.

His head dropped. A hand reached up and ruffled his hair. He let out a groan and a hiss, looking back up, he sat for a moment, then stood.

"It's nice to see you, too." He said. And a half a beat later added, "Tomato-chan."

She laughed. The old nickname felt nostalgic, and while she used to be so confused by it, now it just gave her a sense of comfort.

"I'll be late for my next class."

"Then you should go."

"You should go, too."

"I'm not in a hurry."

Sasuke gave a half smirk. A crooked smiled.

"You know," he started nonchalant, "I was thinking of getting a pencil case at that time."

The topic seemed completely non sequitur and Hinata only blinked confused.

"So I'll see you around?" She asked, disregarding his comment.

"In this class I guess." He told her.

"Well," she nodded a few times, "Then I'll see you later."

"Yeah."

A moment passed. They just kept each other as time slowed. But one had to leave. So when they did, and stepped out into the hall, things seemed to return to something somewhat like normalcy,

* * *

**. . .**

* * *

_Doumo: Meaning "Thanks" in Japanese. _

_Apologies for the late update. I appreciated all of the reviews for the last chapter and I continue to appreciate any and all reviews! _


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